according to an article in market watch dated on february 27, 2020, the overall case mortality rate in china was 2.3%. however, these results might be severely different between different age groups and between men and women. people over the age of 70 experienced a rate of mortality 4-5 times that of the average. men were more likely to die than women (2.8% versus 1.7% for women) possibly due to lifestyle, such as it being more possible in men to drink and smoke, making the risk of having a respiratory illness more possible, and thus more vulnerable. these numbers were the conclusion of a study by the chinese center for disease control and prevention using 72,314 covid-19 cases in mainland china as of feb. 11. at that point this was the largest sample of cases for such a study.