The single biggest risk factor for dying in covid-19 is age.
72 percent of the deceased are in the age group 80 years and older, shows DN's review which is based on data from Statistics Sweden and the National Board of Health and Welfare.
Mortality is also higher for men than for women.
Income level is also a risk factor.
According to the review, the mortality rate is 280 percent higher in the age group 50–64 years for those who earn less than SEK 10,000 a month compared with those who earn SEK 30,000–40,000.
Foreign-born overrepresented
Even the low-educated are overrepresented in the statistics on deaths.
One-fifth of the deaths in covid-19 were born abroad, which corresponds to the proportion of foreign-born in the population.
But the group is still overrepresented in the statistics because there is a large concentration of young people among foreign-born.
Foreign-born people aged 60–79 have a mortality rate of 253 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with domestic-born people, where the figure is 143 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
- The mortality rate is generally lower for foreign-born people, but for covid-19 in particular it is higher, says Gunnar Andersson, professor of demography at Stockholm University to the newspaper.
Can be explained by overcrowding
The over-representation is greater from low- and middle-income countries.
According to the review, the mortality rate among foreign-born people has been higher for people born in Somalia, Turkey and Syria.
Public health epidemiologist Anton Lager, who works as unit manager at the Center for Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the Stockholm Region, believes that about three quarters of the overrepresentation of people born in other countries can be explained by factors such as overcrowding, previous illnesses, income, occupations and age.
According to the survey, foreign-born were hit harder in the first wave compared to the second wave.