Certain medications prescribed to Covid-19 patients make them more vulnerable to high blood sugar levels in the long run.
A 2022 study highlighted Covid-19 patients’ enhanced risk of developing diabetes
The Covid-19 virus is linked with a heightened risk of diabetes among Indians. Research shows that Indians who have had Covid-19 have a 40% higher risk of developing diabetes 12 months after it. This is concerning as India is already the world’s diabetes capital, with 80 million afflicted.
Among the major reasons for the increased vulnerability are certain medications given to the infected that raised blood sugar levels.
“Once Covid-19 became more severe, we started getting new-onset diabetes. Most people who were predisposed, like obese people or those with a family history already predisposed to develop diabetes… they had the conversion to diabetes occur almost uniformly during the Covid-19 infection,” said Prof (Dr) Anoop Misra, Executive Chairman, Fortis C-DOC Hospital, Diabetes and Allied Sciences.
A 2022 study by The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, with a sample size of 1,80,000, highlighted Covid-19 patients’ enhanced risk of developing diabetes over the subsequent 12 months. “Some of these people developed very high diabetes, something we see in type I diabetes. They had blood sugar levels of 500-600,” said Dr Misra.
Since Covid-19 also affects the pancreas, among other organs, some medications administered during long Covid increased blood sugar later in life. “That reduces the secretion of insulin and, therefore, patients who were on very minimal dose had their dose increased. And some who were borderline or not on medication became diabetic,” explained Dr Vandana Garg, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital.
The lockdown further impacted health and lifestyle, especially for those who were already unfit, obese, or had blood pressure issues. This particular demographic was and still is prone to developing diabetes. And this risk cuts through the economic and social divides. “People from middle and low socio-economic strata, too, are quite unfit. They work for 12 hours or more a day. They don’t have time for any exercise and diet routine,” said Dr Misra.
All this adds to the disease burden, which is already humongous for India. “There is definitely a burden on the family as well as the nation. This disease needs prolonged care, so there’s the medical burden, psychological burden, as well as the financial burden,” Dr Garg added.
According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), there are approximately 75 million diabetics between the ages of 20 and 79 in India. The average disease burden per person was $114, i.e. approximately Rs 9,000 per person, which adds up to a whopping Rs 67,500 crore every year.
Doctors suggest that non-pharmacological treatment remains the key to dealing with it. Stressing on the significance of lifestyle modification, Dr Garg advises, “More exercise, keeping track of what you eat, how much you sleep.”
The pandemic and the health challenges it prompted have brought about a major attitude change in the medical fraternity. For the last 100 years, doctors focused on four vital signs: respiratory rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, and temperature. Now, blood sugar is considered the fifth vital sign.
Many people across the Indian subcontinent are unaware that they have diabetes as almost 50% of diabetes cases go undetected. Attention to blood sugar levels is likely to be an important step in controlling and managing this silent epidemic.
(This story first appeared on news9live.com on Apr 28, 2023 and can be read here.)
