How many patients hospitalized with novel H1N1 flu have had underlying medical conditions?
CDC studied the hospital records of 268 patients hospitalized with novel H1N1 flu early on during the outbreak. The analysis found that the prevalence of selected underlying conditions was significantly higher among hospitalized novel H1N1 flu patients compared to the prevalence in the general U.S. populations, except for chronic renal disease and obesity. For example, asthma occurs in 8% of the U.S. population, but 32% of hospitalized novel H1N1 flu patients had asthma. With seasonal flu, underlying medical conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart disease and pregnancy place people at greater risk of serious flu-related complications.(People may have reported one or more underlying conditions.
