Diabetes was found in one of four people who died from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an NHS assessment published on Thursday revealed.
5,873 out of 22,332 people (26 percent) who died in English hospitals from COVID-19 had Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, making diabetes the most common co-morbidity among the pandemic, figures revealed.
Other top underlying conditions were dementia, serious breathing problems and chronic kidney disease at 18 percent, 15 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
One-tenth of all patients suffered from ischaemic heart disease, according to the assessment.
“It is clear that people with diabetes are more at risk of dying from Covid-19. More detailed analysis is currently underway to understand the link between the two, although initial findings indicate that the threat in people under 40 continues to be very low," Prof Partha Kar, NHS England special advisor on diabetes said in a statement.
— Partha S Kar (@parthaskar) May 14, 2020
But the study did not specify which cases involved Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, with the former being related to autoimmune conditions and the latter linked to obesity.
Bridget Turner, director of policy at charity Diabetes UK said: “The fact that more than a quarter of people who have died with Covid-19 have diabetes underlines the urgent need to ensure better protection and extra support is available to those in the clinically vulnerable groups."
— Diabetes UK (@DiabetesUK) May 14, 2020
More research was needed to understand why diabetes increased COVID-19 deaths, but "until we know more, people living with diabetes should be supported to manage their condition, attend appointments as normal either online or in person at Covid-protected sites and, most importantly, should continue to have access to their local clinical team if they have concerns," Turner added.
The findings that nearly one in five COVID-19 deaths, or over 4,000 were linked to dementia were "shocking", an Alzheimer's Research UK spokesperson said.
Despite this, it was known that 88 percent of deaths are linked to people aged 65 and older, with deaths highest with those over 80.
“This shocking news will no doubt bring even more worry and fear to people affected by dementia and their loved ones, during an already challenging time," Samantha Benham-Hermetz, the charity’s director of policy and public affairs, said.
Despite unclear links between COVID-19 and dementia, it was known that people suffering from the illness were more vulnerable to some infections, she said, adding that age and older populations suffering more severe coronavirus symptoms could "partly explain the high number of deaths".
— Dr Alexey Kulikov (@KulikovUNIATF) May 14, 2020
"It is also possible that people with dementia may be more likely to have been exposed to the virus due to high rates of infection in care homes,” she concluded.
The news comes after UK prime minister Boris Johnson pledged to help Brits tackle obesity, stating that such efforts would help UK residents to live with the virus as doctors work for a vaccine and reduce pressures on the NHS. PM Johnson's statement comes after he was quarantined and later hospitalised in intensive care in April due to the disease.
