Family history, severe COVID-19 are some factors that increase risk of sudden death among adults: ICMR study

The study also revealed that COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of sudden death among adults aged 18-45; Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya quoted the study and cautioned against strenuous physical activity to reduce the risk of heart attacks

Updated - October 31, 2023 11:14 am IST - NEW DELHI:

Patients who contracted the coronavirus lie in beds while connected to oxygen supplies inside the emergency ward of a COVID-19 hospital on May 03, 2021 in New Delhi,.

Patients who contracted the coronavirus lie in beds while connected to oxygen supplies inside the emergency ward of a COVID-19 hospital on May 03, 2021 in New Delhi,. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Important insights into the factors contributing to sudden deaths among young adults in India indicated that while COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of sudden death among healthy adults, other health and lifestyle factors appear to play a more prominent role in these events.

(For top health news of the day, subscribe to our newsletter Health Matters)

This was revealed in a pre-review summary of a study titled, Factors associated with sudden deaths among adults aged 18–45 in India. The study is a multi-centric matched case-control study — conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The study which concluded this month notes that factors that did increase the chances of sudden death included having a family history of sudden death, being in the hospital for COVID-19 in the past, and certain behaviors like binge drinking and intense physical activity shortly before death.

This past week Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, also quoted the study and cautioned that individuals who have previously experienced a severe episode of COVID-19 should refrain from strenuous physical activity for a period of one to two years to reduce the risk of heart attacks and cardiac arrests. Recently there have been multiple reports of heart-related deaths in Gujarat, during the Navratri festivities.

On COVID-19 vaccination

Meanwhile, key findings of the study also specifies that COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of sudden death among young adults in India. In fact, COVID-19 vaccination reduced the risk of sudden deaths among adults, said the summary of the report. 

Anecdotal reports of sudden death among healthy young adults in India led the researchers to conduct this investigation. These deaths raised concerns that they might be related to COVID-19 infection or COVID vaccination. The study was conducted to investigate the factors contributing to sudden unexplained deaths among healthy young adults in India,” explained a senior Health Ministry official. 

The study included cases and controls with cases were the apparently healthy individuals aged 18-45 with no underlying health issues, died suddenly due to unexplained causes between October 1, 2021, and March 31, 2023.

For each case, four matched controls were selected based on age, gender, and locality.

Investigators enrolled 729 cases and 2,916 controls and collected information from both the cases and controls about things like their medical history, behaviours like smoking, alcohol use, and intense physical activity, whether they had been in the hospital because of COVID-19, and whether they had received doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.