Blog Archives

COULD COVID19 EFFECT ON AGE AT DEATH BE SMALL IN AUSTRALIA?

I have been concerned, as an elderly Australian, that I could be at more risk from COVID19 than other age groups. If the data and analysis in the table I have prepared below is correct, any age effect relative to normal mortality is likely to be small.

AGE Deaths

Pre-Covid19
Australia

30 March 2018

Death rate

2018
Australia %

WORLD

COVID-19 Fatality Ratefor 37578 cases

March 30, 2020

%

Death Rate

2020

World %

0-9 1042 0.70 0 0
10-19 524 0.36 0.2 0.70
20-29 1310 0.89 0.2 0.70
30-39 2244 1.5 0.2 0.70
40-49 4186 2.8 0.4 1.3
50-59 9101 6.2 1.3 5
60-69 17459 11.8 3.6 13
70-79 30296 20.6 8.0 28
80+ 81196 55.1 14.8 51
All ages 147358 100 28.7 100

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/

ABShttp://stat.data.abs.gov.au/Index.aspx?datasetcode=deaths_agespecific_occurenceyear

Deaths in Australia, as in other developed countries, are normally higher among older people. The increase in the number of deaths with COVID19 is not available.

The data indicates that the ages of people worldwide who died from COVID19 were similar to the ages Australians died at in 2018. If world mortality rates occur here, COVID19 would hit older Australians in proportion similar to other ways of dying.

55% of deaths are normally Australians over 80 and this number decreases to 51% for those who die from COVID19 worldwide. However, the proportion of 70-79 years old Australians who would die from COVID19 would increased to 28% from 20.6% worldwide. Australia would have proportionally fewer deaths over 80 than in 2018, but more at 70-79 and 60-69 with fewer 59 and under.

http://www.martinknox.wordpress.com

 

 

USE IT AND LOSE IT?

USE IT AND LOSE IT?

Some species heartbeat rate averages and lifespans are shown in the table below.

SPECIES HEARTBEAT RATE

Beats per minute

LIFESPAN

Years

HEARTBEATS

during lifespan x109

Hummingbird 1200 3.5 2.2
Human 60 70 2.2
African elephant 30 70 1.1
Bowhead whale 200 10 1.1

In his book: Scale, Geoffrey West hypothesises that animals live for about 1.2 billion heartbeats, whatever their size, ranging from hamsters to whales. Is there an evolutionary process, or any other process, that could explain this similarity? Could heartbeat conservation cause longevity? Please comment here:

http://www.martinknox.wordpress.com/subscriptions

 

%d bloggers like this: