Lifestyle Health 90 Percent of Hospitalized Coronavirus Patients Have Preexisiting Conditions A new study from the CDC found that most patients had one or more underlying conditions before contracting COVID-19 By Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta Twitter Julie Mazziotta is the Sports Editor at PEOPLE, covering everything from the NFL to tennis to Simone Biles and Tom Brady. She was previously an Associate Editor for the Health vertical for six years, and prior to joining PEOPLE worked at Health Magazine. When not covering professional athletes, Julie spends her time as a (very) amateur athlete, training for marathons, long bike trips and hikes. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 9, 2020 01:52 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty The majority of people hospitalized with the new coronavirus, COVID-19, have preexisiting conditions, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control found. The study looked at the demographics of 1,482 COVID-19 patients in 14 different states, including New York, California, Michigan and Georgia, who were admitted between March 1 and 30. Nearly all patients — about 90 percent — had preexisiting conditions that could exacerbate COVID-19 symptoms. The most common conditions were obesity, hypertension, chronic lung disease, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The study data also showed that the hospitalized patients were more likely to be adults over 65. They were also majority male, 54 percent, and black people were hospitalized at a rate disproportional to the population. Though black people make up 18 percent of the total population in the areas studied, they represented 33 percent of the hospitalizations. An additional 45 percent of COVID-19 patients in the study were white, and 8 percent were Hispanic. More Men Are Dying from Coronavirus Than Women — Researchers Are Trying to Figure Out Why Additionally, while the patients hospitalized for COVID-19 had similar preexisiting conditions as those who have been hospitalized for the seasonal flu, the rate of hospitalization is far higher for COVID-19. For the flu, adults over 85 are hospitalized at a rate of 5.4 per 100,000 people. With COVID-19, that rate jumps up to 17.2. RELATED VIDEO: Doctors and Nurses Are Having ‘Hard Discussions with Their Families’ About Worst-Case Scenarios During Pandemic The researchers warn that the findings are still preliminary, and represent just about 10 percent of the U.S. population, but they expect to solidify their data as the number of COVID-19 cases increase, and more medical records become available. They said that further research is needed, but that the data shows that the preventive measures currently in place across the U.S. are needed. U.S. Nears 15,000 Coronavirus-Related Deaths, Cases Top 429K: Here’s an Updated Map of the Spread “These findings underscore the importance of preventive measures (e.g., social distancing, respiratory hygiene, and wearing face coverings in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain) to protect older adults and persons with underlying medical conditions,” they said. As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. To help provide doctors and nurses on the front lines with life-saving medical resources, donate to Direct Relief here.