New York, Dec 20 (IANS): Hospitalised Covid-19 patients have a greater risk of dying if they are men or if they are obese or have complications from diabetes or hypertension, say researchers.

The study, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, evaluated nearly 67,000 hospitalised Covid-19 patients in 613 hospitals across the country to determine the link between certain common patient characteristics and the risk of dying from Covid-19.

Their analysis found that men had a 30 per cent higher risk of dying compared to women of the same age and health status.

"Hospitalised patients who were obese, had hypertension or poorly managed diabetes had a higher risk of dying compared to those who did not have these conditions," said study authors from the University of Maryland in the US.

Those aged 20 to 39 with these conditions had the biggest difference in their risk of dying compared to their healthier peers.

"Predicting which hospitalized Covid-19 patients have the highest risk of dying has taken on urgent importance as cases and hospitalizations in the US continue to surge to record high numbers during the month of December," said study author Anthony D Harris.

According to the researchers, age remained the strongest predictor of mortality from Covid-19.

Overall, nearly 19 per cent of hospitalised COVID-19 patients died from their infection with the lowest mortality among pediatric patients, which was less than two per cent.

Mortality rates increased with each decade of life with the highest mortality, 34 per cent, among those aged 80 and older.

"Older patients still have the highest risk of dying, but younger patients with obesity or hypertension have the highest risk of dying relative to other patients their age without these conditions," said study lead author Katherine E Goodman from the University of Maryland

"Doctors may want to be paying extra attention to these younger patients when they're hospitalized to ensure they detect any complications quickly," Goodman added.

The researchers also found some good news in their study findings. Death rates among hospitalized patients have fallen dramatically since the early weeks of the pandemic in April.

"This is likely due to the availability of new treatments and more knowledge in the medical community on how to properly manage and care for hospitalised patients," the authors noted.