Reference News Network reported on November 30th that people with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, autoimmune hepatitis, mammary diarrhea, multiple sclerosis or type 1 diabetes are currently living in fear of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Economic News Network of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on November 24, many experts believe that this situation makes these patients the most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.
This is first of all because these diseases themselves cause the body to attack itself, which damages important organs such as the lungs, kidneys, cardiovascular system, etc.
Secondly, and more importantly, most of these diseases are treated with immunosuppressants, which increases the risk of infection with the virus.
According to WHO data on the current situation of the epidemic, patients over 60 years old with underlying diseases have the highest mortality rate. The most common diseases are cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, hypertension, kidney disease, etc.
According to the report, a new study has found a relationship between immune-mediated diseases and COVID-19. The researchers first observed that in those patients with systemic autoimmune disease, the “incidence” of COVID-19 disease is higher, generally higher than that of the general population, except for systemic lupus erythematosus.
In this study, authors Ricardo Blanco, Miguel Ángel González-Guy and David Martinez-López set the goal of the study to determine how rheumatism patients are threatened by COVID-19, as well as the probability of infection and symptom characteristics, and verify the use of immunodefinment in these cases. The possible impact of drug production.
Researchers warn that patients with rheumatism caused by immune problems are at greater risk of infection because their pathology is immune-based and they receive different immunosuppressive treatments.
In the study, they observed that these patients had a “higher incidence” of COVID-19. In addition, patients with chronic arthritis who receive bio-directed treatment also show a high incidence.
The researchers reportedly focused on the threat of COVID-19 to patients with immune diseases, and found that risk factors for severe COVID-19 include over 60 years old, men and systemic autoimmune diseases.
