Serious Covid illness in younger people with no serious underlying conditions

[Bettydot]

Recently in video and news paper reports in the mainstream media I’ve noticed more of a mention of younger people in their 20s, 30s and 40s being seriously ill in hospital and ICUs with covid. There seems to have been more of a mention of this during this wave compared to previously. I’m aware that the new strain is only thought to be more infectious and that there have always been some younger people who are severely effected however I’ve noticed that the number of younger people who are getting seriously ill with Covid has been flagged up with more frequency recently. Does anyone know if there has been a rise in younger people being seriously effected and if so why or if this nothing has changed and it’s more of a case of making sure that people are aware that no one is immune to serious illness?

ICNARC publish statistics on the demographics of people receiving critical care for COVID. I've been keeping an eye on it and haven't seen in a jump in the rates for younger people, but I think most people are oblivious to what that rate is, given the misconception that healthy, young people aren't badly affected.

Approximately 20% of COVID critical care patients are aged 49 or under.

I am seeing more younger people. I suspect it is due to where the spread is happening. In the first wave I saw mainly elderly - care homes and people who acquired it in hospital. The younger ones were care home and hospital staff who contracted it at work -with the odd exception.

There is definitely more community spread now, so higher number within the working age population therefore higher number of working age people in ICU.

I have know more people personally (non-frontline) who have had it this time as well, mainly of working age.

And also geographically - I'm near a large city with a younger than average population, and a number of universities, so more likely to see younger people.

@swaziscot thank you for your reply and for providing an insight into the situation in another hospital. Does your DH have any insight into the reasons why they think there has been a change in the demographic of patients? As I said in my initial post what your DH is reporting is the same as I’ve seen other hospital staff reporting in the mainstream media and this is what led me to ask about this but without ability to ask for more detailed information or seeing a more detailed news report on the change in demographic, it’s difficult to fully understand both the context and the implications / cause hence me starting this thread.

@PowerslidePanda that’s interesting thank you, I’ll take a look. I hadn’t realised so many patients were in that age bracket.

@Almostslimjim that makes sense. Likewise I’m beginning to hear of more people locally who have aren’t in frontline roles and have been very careful contracting it. Are you based in a hospital?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-55584649

Sad, but he's not fit and healthy is he...............
I wish the media would bugger off with these isolated stories attempting to say people are fit and healthy, scaring everybody half to death.

It's nothing to do with age in the under 50's.

My sister is a ward sister in a south coast hospital and she has totally changed her view on it she says something has changed since before Xmas and it’s scaring her she’s 30 and is seeing too many people between her age and 50 really unwell with it! She put up a massive fight to ensure her and her team were all vaccinated this week, where as before Christmas she was so worried about catching it due to the illness more Goethe time away from work.

Given we have a collective national blindness to what constitutes obesity I am sure we are going to see 'fit and healthy' young people in hospital.

I seem to remember people debating as to whether Boris Johnson was obese. He is clearly obese and he is the perfect example of someone 'fit and healthy with no underlying conditions' Except obesity.

I've said it many times that I think it is a scandal that the government did not take action to the reduce obesity when we know it increases risk so much and is so (relatively) easy to resolve.

Imagine people were as forthright about obesity as they were about masks - we'd be looking at very different numbers and hospitalisations now.

I've said it many times that I think it is a scandal that the government did not take action to the reduce obesity when we know it increases risk so much and is so (relatively) easy to resolve.

The obesity link is well known though - people will either sit up and take note themselves or they won't. I was 3lb away from obesity last March - today my BMI is 22.

@Jessuk86 that’s worrying. Does she feel that younger people are now being effected more seriously? Are the younger people she’s seeing a healthy weight and in good shape?

My husband was previously fairly fit and had no underlying health issues, and has come out the other side of Covid, after an ICU stint, with diabetes. He also broke his hip in hospital but again, linked to his health after the disease, he's 49 next week.

Are you based in a hospital?

Yes, consultant. Currently in ICU (my non-covid job is consultant geriatrician).

I think it’s still incredibly unusual, but like any illness it can still cause severe disease or death in a younger person, but as others have said it’s mostly due to the increasing number of people catching it so there will be some over lap.

My brother was 14 when he caught an unknown viral illness and suddenly deteriorated. This was nearly 15 years ago. He was very very sick and it was tough and go whether he’d make it. He was fit and healthy and teenage boy with no underlying health issues. It has caused encephalitis and he was put into an induced coma and they told my parents he was unlikely to survive.
Amazingly he pulled through and about 3 weeks post coma he was back to almost normal. He had to learn to walk and talk again. But it all came back seemingly overnight.
The doctors said because he was young, he could get back to normal quicker. He was extremely lucky that he wasn’t left with disability.

Basically, my story shows that a very mild viral illness can turn into something life threatening, but still very rare.

Sorry lots of errors. My phone is difficult to type on.

@thefallthroughtheair

As PPs have said, no this is not correct. You might be thinking of the Duffel interview, which spawned a lot of very irresponsible SM nonsense before the BBC bothered to do some actual journalism and fact check.

Agree.

I also know of quite a few people who were unaware they had underlying conditions until a bout of illness (not covid) brought it to light. For example, my friend was perfectly healthy or so she thought until her nails started breaking and her hair thinned. Turns out she has a quite serious thyroid issue but if it hadn't been for her seeking help abut her nails/hair she would have had no idea as she had no other physical symptoms.

I've seen a rise in the number of news reports of 'fit and healthy' younger people dying of Covid alongside photos which show they're clearly obese. This is an underlying health condition and should be reported as such.

There’s a lot of ‘stories’ on here but it’s not really being backed up by official stats. There is still no huge jump in young people being admitted to hospital when compared to just how many are testing positive 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Hrpuffnstuff1

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-55584649

Sad, but he's not fit and healthy is he...............
I wish the media would bugger off with these isolated stories attempting to say people are fit and healthy, scaring everybody half to death.

It's nothing to do with age in the under 50's.

swimming 80 lengths of a swimming pool every morning and swimming 10 miles down Lake Windermere is pretty fit. Did you just look at his photo and write him off as overweight?

By the way, what percentage of the population under 50 do you think is overweight?

Millions of 'fit and healthy' people under 50 have diabetes/pre diabetes, hypertension, etc. They just don't know it yet. As a nurse that does screening Health Checks I see this regularly. Non smokers, runners, people of a healthy weight with high cholesterol and BP yet no symptoms.
Even gingivitis is a chronic health condition (inflammatory).

Being overweight is a known risk factor for covid though- we know that because thats exactly why we are all being encouraged to lose weight.

Being overweight also puts s strain on the heart and lungs and places you at risk of diabetes and cancer. This has nothing to do with judging people, and everything to do with weight being a predictor of future health- which it is.

There is still no huge jump in young people being admitted to hospital when compared to just how many are testing positive 🤷🏼‍♀️

No, probably not a % jump in relation to positives, but it is a bit more noticeable - I have a static number of beds in my ICU, they were 90% older adults in the first wave, now it's more like 80%. My ICU is entirely COVID - other ICUs in the hospital are mixed and I don't know what their stats are like, it could just be I have the only younger patients in mine.

@Busygoingblah

The more people have covid the more people in every age group will be ill.

Younger, healthy people are more likely to respond to ICU treatment in the very unlikely scenario that they needs it. Hospitals are now so full that medical staff have to make difficult deductions about who to give intensive treatment to. If a 30 year older and a 75 year have the same level of illness but three only the bed to treat one of them the 30 year old will get the bed. The 75 year old will die. This will in end you with it looking like there’s a higher proportion of young people in hospital.

Yes I agree the younger would probably survive, but what’s worrying is the fact that the severity of the illness would be the same or so extreme that the younger patient would need the icu.

You cant become un-obese overnight. There are multiple reasons for weightgain (childhood trauma beinf a huge one.) We cant write off people just because they're larger fgs.

The man linked to above swam 80 lengths a day!!! Hardly unfit.

Those v obese arent due to be vaccinated until group 6.

Not to scare anyone, but I can tell you that there are a lot more younger patients that need hospital treatment, not necessarily icu, but they need admitting to hospital for care. My DH is frontline. Also, he was told a few days ago that in our local hospital 70-80% of the cases are the new strain. We aren’t anywhere in the south either. I’m in Yorkshire.