The Link Between Covid Hospitalisation And Diabetes

Dr Ambrish Mithal discusses how Diabetes and COVID related hospitalisation are interlinked.

In early 2020, when cases of COVID-19 started rising throughout the world, people with co-morbidities such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and kidney disease were more likely to face adverse outcomes as compared to those who did not have these conditions. The adverse outcomes of COVID in China, Europe, and the U.S., were linked to these comorbidities.

COVID-19 in India

India has one of the highest numbers of people with Diabetes in the world and this number continues to rise. The urban areas of India, in particular the metropolitan cities, have a higher prevalence of Diabetes than the rural areas. COVID has impacted urban metropolitan areas much more than the rural discusses how Diabetes and COVID related hospitalization areas, explaining in part the occurrence of COVID in people with Diabetes.

Among people living in metropolitan cities (like Delhi) 15-20 per cent has Diabetes by the age of 40. At the age of 60, this number increases to 35-40 per cent. Looking at such high figures, it is evident that the older generation was severely impacted with COVID because they already have significant co-morbidities. Therefore, metabolic syndrome (a cluster of conditions such as high blood sugar, high waist circumference, high cholesterol levels, and excess body fat) and COVID form a dangerous duo even though India has seen a lower COVID fatality rate than any western country.

This could be attributed to various factors such as a higher proportion of young people in India or a stronger immunity status, but certainly not because of our superior metabolic parameters. People who are succumbing to COVID-19 in India have a high proportion of metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome and COVID-19