What makes young Indians at higher risk of covid19 infection

What Makes Young Indians at Higher Risk of Covid-19 Infection?

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Metabolic disorders are increasingly common among younger Indians, so the age at which Covid-19 becomes a higher risk could be much lower than 65-plus

Introduction

It is worthwhile knowing what makes young Indians at higher risk of Covid-19 infection? In developed countries people in the age group 65 and above are affected. Studies by various medical professional have given their views on why young Indians in particular are affected by Corona-19 virus. The studies indicate that metabolic disorders like hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity and malnutrition are some of the reasons what makes young Indians at higher risk of Covid-19 infection!

 

Reasons for young Indians at higher risk of Covid-19 complications:

There is no cure or vaccine at the moment to fight against Covid-19 pandemic. Indian are at a higher risk because:

  1. India is densely populated;
  2. India has a weak health infrastructure; and
  3. India has a higher prevalence of a cluster of lifestyle diseases, together called “metabolic syndrome”.

 

List of metabolic syndrome cluster includes:

  1. High blood pressure (BP);
  2. Diabetes;
  3. Obesity: and
  4. Clogged arteries;

This makes people more prone to cardiovascular disease.

The above risk factors are the mainly responsible for the cause of kidney diseases. If such patients   are affected with corona virus, then treating them becomes very difficult.

In America people aged 60 years and above are affected with corona virus.  In India the situation is different. It is observed that many younger people are suffering from metabolic syndrome. Therefore, in India, the high – risk age for Covid-19 brings to 40 years or even lower.

Metabolic disorders Indian Scenario

According to a study published in Pub Med TITLED “Cardio-metabolic diseases in India – the risk factors responsible for this are: smoking, drinking alcohol, physical inactivity, obesity and eating unhealthy diet. The consumption of refined carbohydrates and saturated fats has increased.

According to the study conducted by Dr Avnish Seth, director, gastroenterology and hepatobiliary diseases, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram:

  1. 25% of adult males and 40% of adult females suffer from metabolic syndrome in India;
  2. Those who are in the age-bracket of 40 years to 60 years are more prone to such disorders.
  3. In India, these diseases are estimated to account for 63 per cent of all deaths. In 2016, around 60 lakh Indians died due to these diseases, of which more than 33 lakh were males, according to WHO data.
  4. Metabolic risk factors are a common cause of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease.
  5. Most of the deaths occur in low income groups
  6. With Covid-19, we have not just been fighting a communicable disease alone, but also a growing backdrop of non-communicable diseases that could needlessly raise the death toll.”

According to a report by Dr Arutselvi Devrajan:

  1. India’s burden of non-communicable diseases is presently more than half of the total deaths.
  2. Covid-19 is bound to raise the death toll.

The Government of India also acknowledges the challenge.:

  1. “People with non-communicable diseases are at increased risk of developing complications due to Covid-19,” says a pop-up message on the website of the National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), an institute oversees non-communicable diseases in India under the Indian Council of Medical Research.
  2. The NCDIR adds that people suffering from such diseases are at increased risk of “developing complications from existing diseases due to disruption of routine care”.

Covid-related implications for India

Dr Veera Baladandayuthapani analyzed the data of 2,6 lakh Covid-19 patients worldwide and concluded that diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases have high rates of occurance.

Data for India suffering from NCD’s.:
  1. Diabetes : Close to 12% people suffer, which amounts to 15.6 crore people at risk
  2. Hypertension: Close to 30% people suffer, which amounts to 39 crore;
  3. Cardiovascular: nearly 5.4 crore people are suffering from cardiovascular issues.

Dr Sayantan Banerjee from IIM Indore is undertaking a detailed study on a national level to understand the relationship between Covid-19 and metabolic syndrome.

His findings are that the prevalence of metabolic disorders such as hypertension along with diabetes is much more in red zones than green zones.

Thus hypertension and diabetes can bring the age of India’s at-risk population

 “This brings down the high-risk age group for Covid-19 category as well in India. It is not just the people above 65 years of age who are vulnerable in India, but the younger age-group with metabolic syndrome or non-communicable diseases are equally vulnerable,” he said.

Poor outcome of treatment

According to Dr Rahid Gauri of AIIMS:

  1. Metabolic disorders cause poor outcomes in the young population along with delayed recovery,”
  2. “Consequences of metabolic disorders such as diabetes cause renal failure, which exacerbates the clinical situation,”
Obesity and Covid-19

What Makes Young Indians at Higher Risk of Covid-19 Infection?

Obesity can restrict ventilation, impair immune responses to viral infection, and induce diabetes and oxidant stress to adversely affect cardiovascular function. This data is published in the journal lancet.

In a population with a high prevalence of obesity, Covid-19 will affect younger populations more than previously reported.

 This is what S.V Subramanian has to say ………

S.V. Subramanian, professor of population health and geography at Harvard University, told ThePrint that India also suffers from under-nutrition, which warrants another probe.

“The emerging evidence from the clinical characteristics of Covid-19 deaths in the high income countries suggests hypertension and diabetes as a susceptibility. However, we need to learn more by examining the data on Covid-19 patients in India that how the virus interacts with people with undernutrition as well, which we know is a huge issue among adults and children in India,” he said.

Summary

  1. In India Covid-19 infection can also affect younger people in the age group 40 and above. I western countries the people 65 and above are susceptible to Corona-19 infection.

  2. In India people suffering from metabolic syndrome diseases like hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular issues are at a greater risk of having corona-19 infection.

  3. This brings down the high-risk age group for Covid-19 in India.

  4. The other reason for high-risk is due to malnutrition. Majority of the people affected are found to be from low-income group.

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