Covid-19: Mumbai toll among those in their 20s touches 100 – Times of India

MUMBAI: Covid deaths among the 20s have touched 100 in the city, while that among the 30s is 281, underlining that the young mustn’t ignore symptoms.
Doctors that TOI spoke to listed obesity, diabetes, pre-existing ailments and late referrals as some of the main reasons for deaths among the young. In terms of fatality rate, it’s less than 1% in the 20-29 group and 1.3% in the 30-39 group compared to 19-21% in the elderly age groups.

Deaths among the young were more in the beginning of the pandemic, when doctors knew little about the virus, than in recent weeks, said Dr Gaurav Lodha of Sion Hospital.
Obesity one of the biggest risk factors for fatalities among young Mumbaikars: Doc
Of the 6,546 Covid-19 fatalities analysed by the BMC till August 4, there have been 381 deaths in the age brackets of 20-39.

According to Dr Nilakshi Sabnis, assistant professor of medicine at KEM Hospital, during the peak of the pandemic in May and June, the Parel hospital treated several young critical patients.
“There was a late presentation in most cases. They would come with an oxygen saturation as low as 60-65 (normal level is 95 above),” she said. “Obesity, diabetes and hypertension—in many cases undiagnosed—complicated the outcome as they had a bearing on the inflammatory state and immune response.”
Dr Sabnis added that somewhere delays could have been caused by transport issues too as KEM hospital had critical patients brought on two-wheelers too.
Dr Rakesh Bhadade, intensivist at BYL Nair Hospital, concurred that obesity was one of the biggest risk factors. On Thursday, the hospital at Mumbai Central had discharged a 32-year-old who had developed acute respiratory distress syndrome. “About 30-40% of our young critical patients were obese. Due to obesity, they have reduced lung volume and the abdominal fat is compressing the chest. These factors do affect outcome when one becomes critical,” the doctor said, adding that many also had uncontrolled sugar and lipid profiles.
Fortis Hospital in Mulund, where around 300 critical patients have been treated for Covid, there have been two deaths among patients in 20s and one in 30s. One of the patients had end-stage leukaemia, while a 26-year-old had come with a Covid-induced stroke. The third patient, a 34-year-old man, came with convulsions.
“We probably need to do a deep dive and see what’s claiming the lives of the young. We are seeing a lot of thrombotic complications and if those are not treated on time, the outcome could be bad,” said intensivist Dr Rahul Pandit, also a member of the state’s Covid task force.
But in the US and European countries, doctors are currently witnessing a shift in demographic with younger age groups getting infected more by the coronavirus.