‘Elderly must take precautions even after lockdown’

Co-morbidities a major cause of fatality among geriatric population, say experts

07/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,CHENNAI

A senior citizen collecting relief material. Photograph used for representational purpose only.

Lower immunity levels and co-morbidities put the geriatric population at a higher risk for COVID-19. This is why doctors have been stressing the need to protect the elderly from the infection. More importantly, precautions should continue even after the lockdown is lifted, they add.

In Tamil Nadu, less than 10% of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 are above the age of 60. As of Tuesday, 336 such persons — 221 men and 115 women — have tested positive for COVID-19, accounting for 8.2% of the total number of positive patients in the State. A majority of the fatalities have occurred in the age group of above 50.

Senior geriatrician V.S. Natarajan said that elderly persons were more affected due to their lower immunity levels; the reasons being multiple diseases and intake of medications. “If you take the global census, 70% of persons affected are above 60 years. Eighty-three percent of persons who died had more than one ailment. A co-morbid condition is the most important factor in the elderly and is responsible for mortality. The common ailments are diabetes, asthma, renal disease and cancer,” he said.

G.S. Shanthi, head of department, Geriatric Medicine, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, said with the lockdown in place, persons, including the elderly, were following certain precautions.

“Once the lockdown is lifted, elderly persons must still continue these precautions of self-isolation at home, wearing of masks, avoiding exposure to those who cough or sneeze, and regular washing of hands. They need to maintain physical distancing, especially with younger persons who will go out once the lockdown is lifted. These young persons may contract the virus and be asymptomatic, but they can be carriers,” she said.

In the last three days, the hospital has been seeing more asymptomatic patients in the 20-50 age group, she said, adding: “Only some have symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. We are isolating the younger patients from those who are above 50. They are in a different block as we need to protect the vulnerable population.”

Herd immunity

“As more people test positive without too many symptoms, we can expect herd immunity to develop. However, older persons have to be careful as their immunological response will be lower. They should avoid going out, not even for walks or to grocery stores. Their diet should include food items that can improve their immunity and seek medical care if needed,” Dr. Shanthi said. If they are on regular medication for conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, heart, kidney or liver ailments, they should continue the medicines without fail to avoid complications, she added.

Anxiety level

Dr. Natarajan said that there was an increase in anxiety levels among the elderly as they have not been able to get advice from doctors on time due to the lockdown. Many have not been able to go and get medicines from government hospitals, while others have been unable to check their sugar and creatinine levels as many laboratories are closed.