Undiagnosed diabetes contributed substantially to COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in many low- and middle-income countries, including India: study | Top Vip News

Undiagnosed diabetes contributed substantially to COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including India, according to a new study published in the medical journal The lancet saying.

The study was supported, in part, by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and FIND, a nonprofit global health organization based in Geneva. Eight low- and middle-income countries were studied: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa.

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According to the study, while it is noted that COVID-19 patients who have been diagnosed with chronic diseases, including diabetes, may experience higher rates of hospitalization and mortality relative to the general population, however, the burden of undiagnosed comorbidities during the pandemic, had not been adequately studied.

The study is titled ‘Estimates of hospitalizations and deaths in COVID-19 patients associated with undiagnosed diabetes during the first phase of the pandemic in eight low- and middle-income countries: a modeling study.’

For the study, a model was implemented to estimate the burden of hospitalization and mortality of COVID-19 patients who had undiagnosed type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

The study, based on its modeling estimates, found that across the eight countries, 6.7 million patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had undiagnosed diabetes, of whom 1.9 million died. They accounted for 21.1% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations and 30.5% of all COVID-19 deaths in these countries.

“We found that if these populations had been diagnosed with diabetes before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1.7% of COVID-19 hospitalizations and 5.0% of COVID-19 deaths could have been avoided, and 1.8 million quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) could have been avoided. cattle,’ he added.

The study notes that an understanding of the risk factors driving severe COVID-19 outcomes could lead to targeted investments in prevention and control efforts to reduce the burden on the healthcare system during future pandemic waves.

Explaining in more detail the implications of all the available evidence, he noted that the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) requires greater investments in prevention and diagnosis.

“NCDs can seriously increase the health burden caused by new and emerging infectious diseases,” he further warned. He added that a meta-analysis had found that diabetes was the third most common comorbidity associated with increased severity and mortality from COVID-19 after hypertension and obesity. However, accounting for diabetes in patients with COVID-19 has focused on populations with known diabetes, potentially excluding the 45% of people with diabetes globally who do not know their status,” the study noted.

“Noncommunicable diseases, specifically diabetes, obesity and hypertension, are increasing rapidly in low- and middle-income countries, posing a serious health and economic burden. Its importance has been magnified during the COVID-19 pandemic. “This study highlights the benefits of preventing diabetes cases and the importance of timely diagnosis to reduce the burden of future diseases,” the study stated.