Patients with Type 2 diabetes who had COVID-19 showed significantly more fatigue when compared with patients who did not have COVID-19, revealed a latest study conducted jointly by Fortis, AIIMS, C-NET, N-DOC and Diabetes Foundation. The sample size assessed 108 type 2 diabetes patients.
The results show that diabetes complicates course of COVID-19 and results in excess morbidity and mortality. Diabetes also poses challenges in the recovery of patients.
Post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS) or long COVID has emerged as a major roadblock in the recovery of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Amidst many symptoms such as myalgia (muscle pain), headache, cough and breathlessness, fatigue is the most prevalent and makes a COVID patient severely debilitated.
The study’s objective was to assess the prevalence of fatigue and handgrip strength (as a surrogate marker for sarcopenia or muscle mass and power) in patients with Type 2 diabetes after COVID-19 infection, and to compare them against patients with diabetes without a history of COVID-19.
Dr Anoop Misra, Padma Shri, Executive Chairman and Director, Diabetes and Endocrinology, Fortis C-DOC, shared, “Fatigue is a predominant and very debilitating factor, present afterwards in both hospitalized and non-hospitalized COVID patients. Fatigue and associated symptoms decrease quality of life and interfere with normal working capacity.”
He further said, “For the first time, such a collaborative case control study has been done by Fortis C-DOC, AIIMS, C-NET, N-DOC and Diabetes Foundation and it shows diabetes complicates course of COVID-19, influences PCS or long COVID via various pathophysiological mechanisms.”
In addition, diabetes poses challenges in the recovery of patients. It is imperative, therefore, for chronic diabetic patients to follow a healthy lifestyle, adhere to treatment guidelines and go for regular health checks, added Dr Misra.