ISS, October 19th 2021
With regard to what was reported by various media regarding the data contained in the report on the characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 positive patients who died in Italy published 19 October last, and in order to ensure the data are correctly interpreted, the following clarifications are in order:
· The report does not state that only 2.9% of deaths attributed to COVID-19 are due to the virus. The percentage of 2.9%, which has also been reported in previous editions, refers to the percentage of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients who died without other pathologies being diagnosed before the infection. This figure is furthermore confirmed by the observation made right from the early stages of the pandemic and widely reported in various national and international studies and reports also by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità – ISS (Italian National Institute of Health), namely that the presence of pre-existing (? Concomitant) diseases is a risk factor.
· The joint ISTAT-ISS reports drawn up on the basis of death certificates show that COVID-19 as cause of death is directly responsible for 89% of the death of people who tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
· Regardless of COVID 19, it is emphasized that the presence of chronic diseases in the elderly population is very common. A recent ISTAT report indicates that only 15% of the elderly population does not suffer from chronic diseases and that about 52% is affected by 3 or more chronic diseases. Considering the fact that chronic diseases are a risk factor for death from COVID-19 and that chronic diseases are very common in the general population, the high frequency with which these conditions are present in the SARS-CoV-2 positive population who died is not at all surprising.
· It is also incorrect to state that the pathologies found in the SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals who died would, in any case, have led them to die "in a short time". The concomitance of multiple chronic pathologies in the same person constitutes in itself an element of fragility that is generally compensated by appropriate therapies: contracting an infection such as SARS-CoV-2 constitutes an increased risk of complications and death. In fact, since the beginning of the pandemic, an excess mortality has been recorded in the population, that is to say, a higher number of deaths than in previous years, estimates of which are periodically reported in the joint ISS-ISTAT reports. It should be noted that the pre-existing pathologies, indicated in the report with the aim of clarifying the characteristics of the deceased, are assessed by a group of ISS doctors through the review of samples of hospital medical records sent to the ISS by the Regions and Autonomous Provinces, and the pre-existing pathologies most frequently found in SARS-CoV-2 positive deceased are shown in table 1 of the report. The most represented disorders are hypertension, type 2 diabetes and dementia, disorders which are very frequently found in the population.
