Which factors put the US president at risk, and how are his doctors responding?
Three key factors put Trump at a high risk of suffering severe respiratory problems in the wake of his Covid-19 infection. Firstly, he weighs more than 17 stone. He is obese and that makes him 74% more likely to end up in an intensive care unit than a patient of a healthy weight. At the same time, he is 48% more likely to die. A second factor is his age: Trump is 74 and in an age bracket that suggests he is five times more likely to need hospital treatment than an 18 to 29-year-old – and 90 times more likely to die. And finally, he is male. Research suggests that men appear to be twice as likely to die from the disease as women.
