COVID-19 was the direct cause of death for 89 percent of patients who died with a positive test for the virus in Italy, a report has revealed. 

The study conducted by the Superior Health Institute and National Statistics Institute, ISTAT, used 4,942 of the 31,573 total deaths reported to the National COVID-19 Surveillance System until 25 May.

The direct cause of death for the remaining 11 percent of cases has been attributed to several other health conditions.

These include: circulatory diseases (4.6 percent of total deaths analyzed); tumors (2.4 percent); respiratory diseases (1 percent); diabetes (0.6 percent); dementia (0.6 percent); digestive diseases (0.5 percent). 

The study also shows that the proportion of deaths for which COVID-19 has been blamed varies depending on age ranges. COVID-19 was directly responsible for the death of 82 percent of victims under 50, while for 60-69-year-olds the figure was 92 percent.

In 72.8 percent of deaths with a positive COVID-19 test, the study notes there was at least one extra contributing cause apart from the virus. 

Factors include hypertensive heart disease (present in 18 percent of the death records analyzed), diabetes mellitus (16 percent), ischemic heart diseases (13 percent) and tumors (12 percent). 

COVID-19 complications leading to death were also analyzed, showing 79 percent of people who died with a COVID-19 test had pneumonia, while 55 percent had respiratory failure. 

Other complications included shock, which appeared in 6 percent of deaths, as well as acute distress respiratory syndrome, heart complications, sepsis and unspecified infections.