# 4383
The CDC has maintained, and refined over time, a list of those underlying medical conditions they believe predispose some people to more serious complications from the H1N1 pandemic virus.
Here is their list as of early December:
People at High Risk for Developing Flu-Related Complications
- Children younger than 5, but especially children younger than 2 years old
- Adults 65 years of age and older
- Pregnant women
- People who have medical conditions including:
- Asthma
- Neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions [including disorders of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerve, and muscle such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy (seizure disorders), stroke, intellectual disability (mental retardation), moderate to severe developmental delay, muscular dystrophy, or spinal cord injury].
- Chronic lung disease (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and cystic fibrosis
- Heart disease (such as congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease)
- Blood disorders (such as sickle cell disease)
- Endocrine disorders (such as diabetes mellitus)
- Kidney disorders
- Liver disorders
- Metabolic disorders (such as inherited metabolic disorders and mitochondrial disorders)
- Weakened immune system due to disease or medication (such as people with HIV or AIDs, or cancer, or those on chronic steroids)
- People younger than 19 years of age who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy
Tuesday night the CDC posted an overview and Q&A on the most commonly seen underlying conditions in patients hospitalized from the H1N1 flu over the past 10 months.
This update reflects data gather from roughly 60 counties, and 13 metro areas around the country, and is covers the time span April 15, 2009 – February 16, 2010. I’ll not post the whole thing, since you can follow this link to read it in its entirety.
Since very early in this pandemic it has been apparent that people with certain types of underlying conditions were being hospitalized with serious complications. Pregnancy and Asthma were both identified very early as potential complicating factors.
According to EIP data collected from April 2009 to February 16, 2010, 85% of hospitalized adults and 58% of hospitalized children with 2009 H1N1 virus infections have had one or more medical conditions.
The two charts below show the most commonly reported underlying conditions in adults and children. For both cohorts, Asthma was the number one complicating factor, showing up in more than 30% of each group.
After that, developmental and neurological disorders weighed heavily among children, and chronic metabolic, cardiac, and pulmonary disorders impacted adults the greatest.
Other blogs that have dealt with this subject in the past few months include:
CMAJ: Asthma As A Pandemic Risk Factor In Children
Australian Study: H1N1 Hospitalized Patients
Study: H1N1 Hospitalization Profiles
Study: H1N1 A Threat To All Age Groups
