As the new coronavirus pandemic continues to rage across the globe, older people still face the greatest risk of death, but they are far from the only ones who are vulnerable.

In the face of this new virus, many mysteries remain unsolved.

With the surge in cases in the United States and Europe, experts have found that before the pandemic begins, regardless of your age, your health status plays a key role in the symptoms of the new coronavirus pneumonia infection.

Although it will take months for scientists to have enough data to determine who most is at risk and why preliminary data from early cases around the world have begun to provide clues.

More than just elderly people

The elderly are undoubtedly the hardest hit by the new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19). In China, 80% of the deaths are people aged 60 or over, and this general trend is happening elsewhere.

The aging population means that some countries are facing special risks. Italy is the world's second-longest living country after Japan.

Although mortality rates fluctuated widely during the early stages of the outbreak, Italy reported that so far more than 80% of the deaths were among people over 70 years of age.

In addition, Italy has reported that to date, a quarter of the country's cases have occurred in people between the ages of 19 and 50; in Spain, one third is under the age of 44; in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The first case snapshot found that 29% of patients were between 20 and 44 years old.

Dr. Mike Ryan, the head of the World Health Organization's emergency team, said that between 10 and 15% of people under the age of 50 have moderate to severe infections.

Even if they survive, they will need to be treated in the hospital for weeks. In France, more than half of the first 300 people admitted to the intensive care unit were under 60.

Another mystery is the children, who so far account for only a small portion of the total number of cases in the world. Another question is what role children play in transmitting the virus.

The most dangerous health conditions

Leaving aside age, basic health plays a big role. Of the COVID-19 patients in China, 40% of those in need of emergency care have other chronic health problems.

Prior to COVID-19 treatment, patients with heart disease, diabetes or chronic lung disease had the highest mortality rates.

Pre-existing health problems also increase the risk of infections, such as those with weak immune systems, including cancer treatment. Italy reported that of the first nine patients under the age of 40 who died of COVID-19, seven were confirmed to have "serious diseases" such as heart disease.

The more health problems the worse the condition could be. Italy also reported that about half of those who died of COVID-19 had three or more underlying diseases, while only 2% of those who died had previously been healthy.

Dr. Trish Perl, director of the infectious disease department at the University of Texas at Austin Southwestern Medical Center, said heart disease is a very broad term, but so far those most at risk seem to have severe cardiovascular disease Diseases such as congestive heart failure or arteriosclerotic occlusive disease.

In addition, any kind of infection may make it more difficult to control diabetes, but it is unclear why people with diabetes are more likely to be infected with the new coronavirus.

At the same time, asthma is also worrying. Although routine respiratory infections can also cause ventilator use in patients with COVID-19, it is unclear what effect mild asthma will have on patients and further monitoring is needed.

Gender mystery

Perhaps the gender imbalance is more than an accident, because, during previous SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreaks, scientists at COVID-19 have found that men seem to be more susceptible to infection than women.

In this outbreak, almost half of the COVID-19 deaths in China were men than women. Similar situations have occurred in other parts of Asia and Europe.

A report from the Italian COVID-19 surveillance team shows that in Italy, men now account for 58% of infections, men die more than women and the increase in risk begins at age 50.

Although the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not released details, a report on the first batch of nearly 200 British intensive care patients found that about two-thirds of the patients were men.

One doubt is that globally, men smoke more often and longer than women. The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention is urging research into the relationship between smoking and COVID-19.

Hormones may also play a role. In 2017, researchers at Iowa State University found that male mice were more likely to die from SARS-infected mice through animal models.

After the excision of the ovaries of sex mice, female mice's mortality rate surged. So scientists reasoned that estrogen appeared to be protective.

Special Report: Fighting The New Coronavirus