More than 70 per cent of patients with coronavirus admitted to critical care are men, according to new data.

The figures come from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) and were based on a sample of 7,542 critically-ill patients confirmed as having Covid-19.

Researchers found that 5,389 of the patients were men compared to 2,149 women.

The report, published on Friday, also found that men were more likely to die in critical care, with 51 per cent dying in care compared to around 43% of women.

In total about 49 per cent of the 5,139 patients admitted to critical care who had recorded care outcomes had died, it found.

David Harrison, head statistician at ICNARC, said the gender split showed a "major disparity".

In a briefing on Saturday, he said: "Although we usually expect to see a slightly higher proportion of male patients in critical care compared with female, certainly a percentage that high is unusual and is quite notable."

The report analysed data on patients with confirmed Covid-19 from 286 NHS critical care units in England, Wales and Northern Ireland taking part in the ICNARC programme up to 4pm on Thursday.

The new data echoes comments of a leading expert who said that Covid-19 was just as deadly as Ebola for people admitted to hospital in the UK.

Professor Calum Semple, from the University of Liverpool and a consultant respiratory paediatrician at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, and chief investigator on a study published on Wednesday, said the data showed that coronavirus was just as fatal as Ebola for hospital patients.

Research by Prof Semple and his team found that of the total number of patients, 17 per cent required admission to high dependency or intensive care units and of these, 31per cent were discharged alive, 45 per cent died and 24 per cent continued to be treated in hospital.

Prof Semple said: "Some people persist in believing that Covid-19 is no worse than a bad dose of flu.

"They are gravely mistaken. Despite the best supportive care that we can provide, the crude case fatality rate for people who are admitted to hospital - that is, the proportion of people ill enough to need hospital treatment who then die - with severe Covid-19 is 35 to 40 per cent which is similar to that for people admitted to hospital with Ebola.

"It's a really nasty disease."

The new ICNARC data also showed a higher percentage of severely obese people in critical care with coronavirus, when age and gender-matched against the general population.

Mr Harrison said while the proportions of overweight and obese patients with Covid-19 are in generally line with the population, the data suggests "slightly more patients" with a higher body mass index, particularly in the category with a BMI of 40 and above.

The data also showed that around 56 per cent of 60 to 69-year-olds, 67 per cent of 70 to 79-year-olds, and 65 per cent of people aged 80 and over admitted to critical care died there.

This is compared to about 24 per cent of people aged under 50.

It also found that 70 per cent of the patients who had been discharged from or died in critical care had required advanced respiratory support.

However, 62 per cent of patients who had required advanced respiratory support had died while three-quarters of those who needed any renal support died.

It also found that about 26 per cent of patients in critical care with Covid-19 were black or Asian compared to 66 per cent who were white.

This follows a report from the Office for National Statistics which found people living in the most deprived areas of England have experienced coronavirus mortality rates more than double those living in the least deprived areas.

The ICNARC report also said that 25 per cent of critical care coronavirus patients were from the most deprived quintile compared to 14.5 per cent who were in the least deprived one.

A separate Institute for Fiscal Studies report also found that per capita deaths among the black Caribbean population in English hospitals are three times those of white British people.