- The virus is a respiratory virus, which means it can invade your respiratory system and cause complications with breathing.
- For people with diabetes, heart conditions, and lung conditions, the virus can affect them in different ways.
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How COVID-19 affects people with diabetes, cancer, and other conditions
The COVID-19 coronavirus is more likely to affect people with underlying conditions.
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Following is a transcript of the video.
Narrator: You've heard it said over and over: The novel coronavirus is more likely to affect the elderly and people with underlying conditions. For the latter group...
Amir Khan: That might have something to do with the medication that they're on, the condition itself, or their immune system.
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Narrator: That's Amir Khan, a National Health Service doctor in the UK. The COVID-19 coronavirus is a respiratory virus, which means it can invade your respiratory system, affecting how you breathe in oxygen and get it to your bloodstream. And where the virus targets can explain why certain conditions are especially vulnerable. First, there's diabetes.
Khan: People with diabetes have a higher risk of developing complications from the coronavirus. Although the vast majority will suffer mild to moderate symptoms, there is a small proportion that will suffer severe symptoms, and that is higher than those people who don't have diabetes.
Narrator: Diabetes is a condition in which either the body doesn't produce enough insulin or the body is resistant to the effects of insulin. Insulin is important because it regulates the amount of sugar in your blood.
Khan: High levels of blood sugar over a long period of time can actually depress your immune system, so it doesn't respond as quickly to the virus when it enters the body and it has more time to replicate, get down to your lungs, and cause the problems associated with breathing that can lead to needing hospital treatment.
Narrator: If you have diabetes and are worried about contracting COVID-19, Khan says the best thing to do is to control your blood sugar as much as possible so your immune system stays healthy. People with heart conditions should also be concerned.
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Khan: Looking at the numbers coming out of China and other countries, we can see that people with heart conditions really are at high risk of developing complications.
Narrator: Of the first 44,672 diagnosed COVID-19 cases in China, patients with cardiovascular diseases had the highest fatality rate, at 10.5%. Other heart conditions include previous heart attacks or strokes.
Khan: When the coronavirus enters your body and gets down to your lungs, what it does is stop the lungs effectively passing oxygen through into the blood, and so the heart has to work harder to pump that blood around, which has less oxygen in it. And if you have an underlying heart condition, that will put excess strain on your heart and lead to further complications.
Narrator: Finally, people with conditions that involve the lungs, like asthma, are also at higher risk of being affected by coronavirus.
Khan: One of the organs we know the coronavirus goes to is the lungs. It actually attacks the edges of the lungs, and the edges of the lungs, or the alveoli, we call them, are actually responsible for much of the gas exchange. With asthma, anything that's foreign or unusual that enters the lungs often triggers an asthmatic response and causes the airways to narrow further and for you to become wheezy.
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Narrator: This cause and effect also applies to people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, a disease that blocks airflow to the lungs.
Khan: With people with COPD in particular, there's already damage done there, so any further damage will cause really severe lung problems.
Narrator: Khan says the best thing to do for people who have either of these conditions is to speak with your doctor to make sure you're using your inhaler correctly. Patients who have had cancer may also be at higher risk, since some types of cancer and treatments can weaken immune systems, thus increasing chances of infection.
Although having an underlying condition increases your risk of having more severe complications from coronavirus, most cases are survivable. The CDC says you should seek serious medical attention if you're experiencing any of the following symptoms: Otherwise, stay vigilant by washing your hands, cleaning the surfaces you use daily, avoiding close contact with people, and monitoring your health.
See Also:
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- I followed New York City 'deathcare' workers as they collected the bodies of people killed by the coronavirus, and I saw a growing, chaotic, and risky battle
- 10 coronavirus symptoms you may not be aware of, from malaise and dizziness to digestive issues
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