Hypertension and diabetes have emerged as the two most common comorbidities seen in Covid-19 patients. Although experts have also said that obese patients need more time to recover and may need to be hospitalized for a longer period of time.
The city’s critical care specialist, Dr Minesh Mehta said that during the covid third wave, it has been found that obesity or being overweight is one of the risk factors for half of the patients in the hospital setting.
“In our population, hypertension and diabetes are closely linked to obesity or being overweight,” he said. But if we compare it with another wave, the patient’s profile has changed. In the second wave, most young patients needed hospitalization and oxygen support.
“During this wave, overall hospital admissions are low. And thus, we need to understand the criteria for admission – if the patient has multiple comorbidities, he should be admitted on the advice of a doctor. One of the risk factors for these criteria is obesity, as the patient may have difficulty breathing or feel tired. ” Ahmedabad city-based internal medicine specialist Dr Manoj Vitthalani said.
The city’s critical care specialist, Dr Amit Prajapati said that it is not that obese patients come to hospitals more – it should be seen from the point of view of treatment. “I’m not saying that someone got severe covid due to obesity – but when a person is obese, it reduces the capacity of the patient’s lungs and also takes a little longer to recover,” he said.
“About half of the patients who need to be hospitalized for a long time have multiple comorbidities, including obesity. Even people with chronic kidney disease and a history of transplants are at risk of long-term hospitalization, “said Dr Krishna Kumar, a city-based critical care specialist. Anish Joshi said.
