Why Has London Much Higher 18-64 yr Old Hospital Admissions

[littleowl1]

This morning I analysed the age of all patients admitted to hospital with coronavirus in each region in England.

I was quite surprised that one third of admissions are aged 18-64 - this is pretty standard across every region.

And it's a lot higher proportion than one might expect given the general discussion in the media, right?

Admissions is a interesting barometer, I feel, as it highlights the risk of falling very ill, ill enough to be admitted.

But another anomaly caught my eye.

In London, the proportion of 18-64 year olds admitted to hospital is much, much higher than the rest of the country - at 45%.

Any thoughts on why this might be? Age demographics of the city? A larger BAME community? But what about other similar regions?

It is such an astonishing difference - would be delighted to hear thoughts on why

45% of what?

London has had more cases per person i assume as higher immunity.
Whereas 10%+ on average had antibodies it was likely higher in the younger ones and under say 5% of older people.

Is this people admitted for treatment wrt Covid or tested positive for it in hospital?

Age demographics of the area. Younger population proportionally so therefore the proportion of them catching covid and going to hospital is higher too.
Median age NE is 41.8, NW is 40.3, SE is 41.7, London is 35.6.

45% of hospital admissions due to CV HSHorror.

I'd say demographics too - younger,
more transient population. Maybe more likely to mix than more stable populations.

@MarshaBradyo @HSHorror

Its 45% of all covid hospital admissions since the start of the pandemic (so cumulative). This includes those who test positive in hospital.

So to be clear, the govt data counts admissions as follows (Sorry its a bit long winded but it does clarify):

The data includes people admitted to hospital who tested positive for COVID-19 in the 14 days prior to admission, and those who tested positive in hospital after admission. Inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19 after admission are reported as being admitted on the day prior to their diagnosis. Admissions to all NHS acute hospitals and mental health and learning disability trusts, as well as independent service providers commissioned by the NHS are included.

Isn't there more overcrowded/multiple occupancy housing, at least in some areas of London that have been hardest hit, like Newham?

Sorry I thought I had included the link in the original post.

I have broken out the age tables under each regional chart
www.covidmessenger.com/hospital-admissions/

I'm guessing the tube could be a significant factor.

Are discharge figures available? They could be very brief admissions. I know someone in his 60s who had a night on a ward with covid. Home next day. They could be brief admissions. London has a younger demographic doesn't it?

A lot of deprivation? A very high number of those are BAME and vulnerable.

Lots of people in London don't have a car and rely on public transport (buses and tubes which are usually crowded) to get to work several miles away. A lot of work would be public facing.

Housing is very expensive and people are crowded together, often across the generations.

Sorry the silence. Homeshooling.

I don't believe discharge figures are available. Certainly not directly in the daily data release. They may be buried somewhere in a PHE report but I havent come across them yet. But its a good point. I will keep an eye out for discharge stats.

Those stats don't mean that higher numbers of 16-64 year olds have been admitted in London.

It means a higher proportion of admissions were 16-64 years old. This could equally be due to smaller numbers of the other ages groups being admitted.

As a previous poster said it is likely due to different population make up in London, fewer older people and children, more working age people.

@titchy

45% of hospital admissions due to CV HSHorror.

I'd say demographics too - younger,
more transient population. Maybe more likely to mix than more stable populations.

45% of people who are admitted to hospital and then test positive for covid, are under 65.

That's not the same as being admitted due to covid.

New variant. The maps show levels of this are highest in SE.

Professor Jeremy Brown of UCL confirmed that half of his patients in critical care do not fall within any of the priority categories for vaccination. He is a member of JCVI and said that the JCVI have not discussed changes required to the priority list since the new variant was discovered (and allowed to spread widely for weeks).
The interviewer was surprised they had not even discussed it. Political hot potato.
In a few weeks, critical care units and mortuaries will only have under-50s and antivaxxers. That will be nice for us all. No vaccines for us - get the virus and either live or die.

Likely to be the make up of the population-more younger people in London. Could the new variant have any affect? ie new variant causing more problems in younger people and this pattern may spread to other regions.