This archive report was first published on 12 July 2020.
Diabetes Patients Face Increased COVID-19 Risks ¶
Thomas Nyandoro Kauzi, a 45-year-old resident of Surungai, Kapsabet, Nandi county, has been living with diabetes and hypertension since 2008. He worked as a hotel manager but fell ill in July 2008, forcing him to take tests that confirmed his worst fears.
According to Dr. Yubrine Moraa, an internal medicine physician, the link between COVID-19 and diabetes lies in the virus's ability to thrive in high-sugar environments. 'For diabetes type 1 and type 2, the problem is the production of insulin. For type 1, the amount of insulin being produced is low or almost none. For type 2, the insulin is there but the sensitivity in doing what it’s supposed to do is low...the high sugars are the problem.'
Dr. Moraa adds that diabetes suppresses the immunity, rendering patients powerless to fight the disease. 'Diabetes Mellitus (dm) as a distinctive comorbidity is associated with more severe disease, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and increased mortality.'
Dr. Mark Nanyingih, an epidemiologist, notes that when someone's immunity is compromised, not just for diabetes but also other non-communicable diseases like hypertension, the vulnerability to such an infection is very high.
ACE2, a receptor that plays a crucial role in protecting the lungs against acute respiratory distress syndrome, is reduced in patients with diabetes. This might explain the increased predisposition to severe lung injury with COVID-19. However, too much expression of ACE2 is also counterproductive in COVID-19, as the virus utilizes ACE2 as a receptor for COVID-19.
Dr. Nanyingih explains that ACE2 is a Y-shaped receptor, making it easy for the virus to bind to it. Patients with diabetes taking ACE2 stimulating drugs may experience the entry of the SARS-COV2 virus, resulting in more severe and fatal disease.
Of Kenya's COVID-19 deaths, diabetes has been a frequent preexisting condition. Dr. Doreen Lugaliki, Kenya's first doctor to succumb to COVID-19, was unaware that she had diabetes.
Dr. Moraa states that patients with diabetes may experience a complication like ketoacidosis, which can prove to be fatal.
According to a Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) report released on Thursday, 15 per cent of households reported having at least one member living with diabetes.
Dr. Moraa advises people living with and managing diabetes to maintain containment measures, avoid going out, and let family members go out for them. 'You don’t need to always go to the hospital, go only when you have a doctor’s appointment.'
