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Why is New Orleans' coronavirus death rate seven times New York's? Obesity is a factor


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2020 Apr 2, 7:09am   957 views  5 comments

by Al_Sharpton_for_President   ➕follow (5)   💰tip   ignore  

The coronavirus has been a far deadlier threat in New Orleans than the rest of the United States, with a per-capita death rate much higher than in New York City. Doctors, public health officials and available data say the Big Easy’s high levels of obesity and related ailments may be part of the problem.

“We’re just sicker,” said Rebekah Gee, who until January was the Health Secretary for Louisiana and now heads up Louisiana State University’s healthcare services division. “We already had tremendous healthcare disparities before this pandemic – one can only imagine they are being amplified now.”

Along with New York and Seattle, New Orleans has emerged as one of the early U.S. hotspots for the coronavirus, making it a national test case for how to control and treat the disease. Chief among the concerns raised by doctors working in the Louisiana city is the death rate, which is seven times that of New York and ten times that of Seattle, based on publicly reported data.

New Orleans residents suffer from obesity, diabetes and hypertension at rates higher than the national average, conditions that doctors and public health officials say can make patients more vulnerable to COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

Some 97% of those killed by COVID-19 in Louisiana had a preexisting condition, according to the state health department. Diabetes was seen in 40% of the deaths, obesity in 25%, chronic kidney disease in 23% and cardiac problems in 21%.

New Orleans, which so far has reported more than 270 coronavirus deaths, could be a harbinger for the potential toll the pandemic could take in other parts of the South and Midwest that also have high rates of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.

A host of other factors could contribute to New Orleans’ high death rate for coronavirus, ranging from access to healthcare and hospital quality, to the prevalence of other conditions including lung disease, health officials say.

But they also add that it is clear that obesity-related conditions are playing a role in the deaths. That could be a warning sign for the United States at large, where chronic obesity is more common than in other developed countries, they said.

Hospitals are reporting cases across the generations -mothers and daughters, fathers and sons - being intubated and cared for in the same intensive care units (ICUs), said Tracey Moffatt, the chief nursing officer at Ochsner Health, the largest healthcare provider in Louisiana. The prevalence of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease in New Orleans and Louisiana plays into that, she said.

Those family members often suffered from the same medical conditions before becoming sick, leaving them similarly vulnerable to the coronavirus despite their age gaps.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-new-orleans/why-is-new-orleans-coronavirus-death-rate-seven-times-new-yorks-obesity-is-a-factor-idUSKBN21K1B0


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Comments 1 - 5 of 5        Search these comments

1   Ceffer   2020 Apr 2, 12:55pm  

Medieval medical politics. Breed like flies, die like flies. 400 pound hefters have already squatted out litters of eight to twelve before they are 40. Whatever life span they have after that is based on artificially induced medical intervention.
2   Patrick   2020 Apr 3, 8:49am  

Hausmeister T says
The fat ones die quicker


Yes, this does seem to be true.
3   Al_Sharpton_for_President   2020 Apr 3, 8:53am  

Patrick says
Yes, this does seem to be true.
They usually also have other related issues like diabetes, which destroys your circulatory system, which impedes your immune response.

This poor fellow, obese, likely has diabetes, hypertension:

https://nypost.com/2020/04/03/detroit-bus-driver-dies-from-covid-19-after-warning-of-sick-riders/
4   socal2   2020 Apr 3, 9:16am  

Maybe the Wuhan Virus will get feminists and SJW's to stop celebrating fat people?



5   clambo   2020 Apr 3, 9:51am  

It's not surprising that Wuhan affects the chubby people more. They're generally less healthy than others.

After being around hospitals a few times I noticed I rarely saw an overweight doctor, and never a surgeon.

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