Covid-19 patients with diabetes are 95% more likely to suffer complications or die from the infectious disease while the risk of death among those with weakened immune systems increases by 76%, according to an analysis conducted by the National Institute of Public Health.
Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell cited the analysis at the government’s coronavirus press briefing on Monday at which it was announced that the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Mexico had risen by 296 to 2,439 and that coronavirus-related deaths had increased by 31 to 125.
“Let’s not forget … the huge prevalence of diabetes in the Mexican population, [the rate] is one of the highest in the world,” López-Gatell said.
Diabetes and suppression of the immune system “can increase by up to 95% and 76%, respectively, the risk of complications and the risk of death” in patients with Covid-19, he said.
The deputy minister noted that the health institute analysis is “still preliminary,” adding “when we have a greater quantity of data, the analysis will be a lot more robust.”
| Coronavirus by state | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Deaths | Cases | Suspected | Tested negative |
| Mexico City | 29 | 609 | 1100 | 1598 |
| Sinaloa | 12 | 97 | 271 | 254 |
| Jalisco | 7 | 126 | 703 | 1184 |
| Baja California | 7 | 111 | 245 | 395 |
| Hidalgo | 5 | 35 | 79 | 232 |
| Coahuila | 5 | 102 | 391 | 424 |
| Estado de México | 8 | 261 | 572 | 789 |
| Tabasco | 8 | 107 | 331 | 328 |
| Veracruz | 3 | 41 | 412 | 345 |
| Morelos | 3 | 17 | 57 | 138 |
| Quintana Roo | 8 | 115 | 148 | 228 |
| Querétaro | 2 | 40 | 48 | 281 |
| San Luis Potosí | 3 | 37 | 154 | 445 |
| Baja California Sur | 2 | 54 | 141 | 202 |
| Durango | 4 | 12 | 78 | 141 |
| Zacatecas | 2 | 9 | 39 | 173 |
| Puebla | 2 | 156 | 222 | 370 |
| Nuevo León | 3 | 93 | 142 | 970 |
| Michoacán | 3 | 33 | 82 | 232 |
| Sonora | 1 | 30 | 141 | 232 |
| Guerrero | 3 | 32 | 128 | 167 |
| Oaxaca | 1 | 27 | 81 | 192 |
| Tamaulipas | 1 | 31 | 82 | 169 |
| Nayarit | 1 | 10 | 27 | 93 |
| Yucatán | 2 | 72 | 64 | 281 |
| Guanajuato | 58 | 164 | 1025 | |
| Aguascalientes | 49 | 164 | 389 | |
| Chiapas | 26 | 65 | 133 | |
| Chihuahua | 22 | 52 | 101 | |
| Tlaxcala | 14 | 75 | 152 | |
| Campeche | 9 | 15 | 40 | |
| Colima | 4 | 22 | 38 | |
| Deaths | Cases | Suspected | Tested negative | |
| Total | 125 | 2439 | 6295 | 11741 |
López-Gatell recommended that people check whether there is any history of chronic diseases, especially diabetes, in their family in order to better assess the risk that Covid-19 poses to them. He said that many people don’t have complete knowledge of their health, and could have a chronic disease without knowing it.
López-Gatell, who has been described as Mexico’s coronavirus czar for appearing daily before the nation as the government’s official spokesman on the subject, said Saturday that diet was to blame for the high rates of diabetes and obesity in the country.
“This is the product of many years, at least four decades, of poor nutrition, a diet that has been created by products of low nutritional quality and very high calories, in particular in processed foods,” he said.
Earlier in Monday’s press briefing, Health Ministry Director of Epidemiology Jose Luis Alomía presented the government’s daily Covid-19 report, which showed that Mexico had recorded its biggest single-day increase in both confirmed cases and deaths.
It was the third consecutive day that more than 200 new cases of the disease were reported after 202 cases were announced on Saturday and 253 cases on Sunday. Before the 31 new coronavirus-related deaths were reported last night, the highest single-day death toll was 19 on April 4.
Deaths have more than quadrupled in the space of a single week from 28 on March 30 to 125 yesterday, while the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases increased by 123% in the same period.
In addition to the 2,439 confirmed cases, Alomía said that there are 6,295 suspected cases and that 11,741 people have tested negative for Covid-19.
More than 20,000 people have now been tested for the disease, which has infected more than 1.3 million people around the world and claimed the lives of more than 75,000, according to data compiled by the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
Mexico City has the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 609, followed by México state, Puebla, Jalisco, Quintana Roo and Baja California, where there are between 111 and 261 cases. Just over one-quarter of people confirmed to have Covid-19 have required hospitalization while 74% have not.
Hypertension, diabetes and obesity have been the most prevalent existing conditions in those who have died, Alomía said. Only three patients to have died did not suffer from a chronic disease, the official said, explaining that the three were aged between 25 and 29.
Mexico City has recorded the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths, with 29, followed by Sinaloa, with 12. México state, Quintana Roo and Tabasco have each recorded eight deaths while seven patients with Covid-19 have died in both Baja California and Jalisco.
Three-quarters of those who have died have been men while women account for the other quarter. Covid-19 patients aged over 65 account for the highest number of deaths followed by those aged between 55 and 59.
Source: La Jornada (sp)
