Abstract
Increasing age, male sex and various chronic conditions have been identified as important risk factors for poor outcomes from COVID-19. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of risk factors for poor outcomes due to COVID-19 infection in an older population. The proportion of the population with one or more risk factors and the prevalence of individual risk factors and multiple risk factors were calculated among Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA)clients aged ≥70 years. There were 103,422 DVA clients included. Of these, 79% in the community and 82% in residential aged care had at least one risk factor for poor outcomes from COVID-19. Hypertension was most prevalent, followed by chronic heart and airways disease. Over half had ≥2 risk factors, and one in five had ≥3 risk factors across multiple body systems. A substantial proportion of older Australians are at risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19 because of their multimorbid risk profile. These patients should be prioritised for proactive monitoring to avoid unintentional harm due to potential omission of care during the pandemic.
Highlights
Background and objectiveIncreasing age, male sex and various chronic conditions have been identified as important risk factors for poor outcomes from COVID-19
A substantial proportion of older Australians are at risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19 because of their multimorbid risk profile
COLLECTIVE EFFORTS WORLDWIDE have focused on the identification of people at highest risk of poor outcomes if they contract COVID-19
Summary
The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of risk factors for poor outcomes due to COVID-19 infection in an older population. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of these risk factors in an older Australian population and, in particular, the prevalence of multiple concurrent risk factors
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