The Unexpected Health Risk Factor For COVID-19
QHHL 
Jan 14 2021
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0 QHHL
COVID-19 is a serious health risk if you’re older or in poor health. But there’s another risk factor unearth by research that you probably haven’t thought about.
COVID-19 has caused a lot of damage throughout the world. It has shut down economies, put people at financial risk, and taken a lot of lives. This is a relatively new virus, and new information is being released every day about it. If you’re older or have chronic health conditions, then you’re at higher risk from this virus. But there’s an unexpected link between education levels and death rates that must be addressed as well.
COVID-19 causes severe illness or even death in a small percentage of the population. In California between March 1 and August 22, there were 19,806 excess deaths compared to previous years. These death rates are over the expected mortality rate for the population.
New research now indicates that around 50 percent of the victims were 65 or older, black, or Latino. There’s also a link between death rates and low education levels.
Education levels are already associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Now, it seems that low education levels can also increase your risk of dying from COVID-19. The study indicated that two thirds of the excess deaths in California were people who only had a high school diploma or who dropped out before graduating. This is a sobering statistic.
There may be several reasons why low education levels impact health risk and specifically COVID-19 risk. People with lower education levels may have:
These figures may also be impacted by the fact that younger generations are generally more educated. Older generations, who often have less education, are naturally at higher risk of dying from COVID-19 because of other factors. This may affect the data but doesn’t negate the importance of this finding for public health in the future.
Low education levels aren’t something that can be changed quickly on a societal or personal level. And even if you do change your education levels, it doesn’t automatically lead to a reduction in your COVID-19 risk. However, if you’re aware of the risk, then you can take action. You can implement strategies to lower your health risk in other areas and minimize the impact of your education on your COVID-19 risk.
Doing this work will help protect you from COVID-19 and improve your health in the long term as well.
If you’re concerned about your overall health or COVID-19 risk, try using HomeLab to track your health status and any changes you make to your life.
Tags: Health Risk, education, COVID-19