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Your support makes all the difference.Men with coronavirus are twice as likely as women to succumb to the disease, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for England and Wales in March.
Some 3,372 people died of Covid-19 in March, the equivalent of 69 per 100,000 people. This accounted for 7 per cent of all deaths in England and Wales that month – nine per cent of all deaths for males and six percent for females.
The ONS found the mortality rate for men who died of coronavirus was 97.5 deaths per 100,000 population. The mortality rate for women was significantly lower, at 46.6 deaths per 100,000.
Including cases where Covid-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, the death rate for men was 113.1 per 100,000 for men and 54.1 per 100,000 for women. The gap in the death rates between the genders was particularly significant from age 55 and up.
The data also revealed that individuals with underlying health problems – most commonly heart disease, followed by dementia and respiratory illnesses – accounted for 91 per cent of cases where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate.
In March, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease were the underlying causes of death with the most fatalities (6,401), followed by ischaemic heart diseases (4,042). Coronavirus was the third leading cause of death for the month, accounting for seven per cent of the total number.
However, it is difficult to judge the extent to which coronavirus is shortening lives.
Nick Stripe, head of health analysis at the ONS, said while the risk of dying from heart disease and stroke had fallen, other evidence suggested the deaths from coronavirus were “on top of” what were already expected.
More research is needed to explore the true impact of Covid-19 on mortality, he said.
The ONS also found the mortality rate in England was “significantly higher” than in Wales. England had 69.7 deaths per 100,000 people compared to 44.5 deaths per 100,000 people in Wales.
Even with the pandemic claiming lives at an alarming rate, the overall mortality rate for March was “significantly lower” than the five-year average, said the office. This could be due in part to colder winters in 2015 and 2018, which led to a higher number of deaths in the winter months.
But the ONS cautioned that the monthly total number of deaths is likely to increase as more are registered.
On Thursday, Public Health England announced an increase of 861 deaths in the UK, pushing the tally up to 13,729. Some 103,093 people have tested positive for the virus, which continues to spread throughout Europe and the world.
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