The proportion of COVID-19 patients who died after being hospitalized was 7.5%, according to an interim report by the National Center for Global Health and Medicine. This figure was lower than for the United States and major European countries.
The center conducted a large-scale study that analyzed data from 2,638 patients. The data were collected from about 230 medical institutions registered by early July.
The number of people who died was 197, and the death rate of hospitalized patients was lower than in Britain and the United States, where it is reported to be 20% or higher.
In the Japanese study cited in the report, the percentage of people with diabetes or obesity was lower than in surveys of the United States and other countries.
The low number of patients with these diseases "appears to be related to the low mortality rate in Japan," an official of the center said. "This point needs to be analyzed in the future."
According to the report, the death rate tends to increase with the severity of the symptoms, and about 15% of those who needed oxygen and about 34% of those who were seriously ill and using artificial respirators died.
About 79% of the seriously ill patients who used artificial respirators were men and about 68% were aged in their 60s or older. About 44% of those with serious illnesses had a history of smoking.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
