COVID‐19 effect on patients with noncommunicable diseases: A narrative review

Abstract

Background and Aims On March 11, 2020, the WHO has declared COVID‐19 a global pandemic, affecting our day‐to‐day lives. Physical distancing and lockdown made significant obstacles to populations, particularly healthcare systems. Most healthcare workers were reallocated to COVID‐19 facilities. Noncommunicable disease patients were given low priority and are at a higher risk of severe COVID‐19 infection, which disrupted the treatment and disease management of these patients. This review aimed to assess the effect of COVID‐19 on different types of noncommunicable diseases and the severity it may cause to patients. Methods We have conducted a review of the literature on COVID‐19 and noncommunicable diseases from December 2019 until January 2022. The search was done in PubMed and Cochrane for relevant articles using variety of searching terms. Data for study variables were extracted. At the end of the selection process, 46 papers were selected for inclusion in the literature review. Result The result from this review found that the COVID‐19 pandemic has affected the efficiency of the patient's treatment indirectly by either delaying or canceling sessions, which solidified the need to rely more on telemedicine, virtual visits, and in‐home visits to improve patient education and minimize the risk of exposure to the patients. The major and most common types of noncommunicable diseases are known to be related to the severe outcomes of COVID‐19 infection. It is strongly recommended to prioritize these patients for vaccinations against COVID‐19 to provide them with the protection that will neutralize the risk imposed by their comorbidities. Conclusion We recommend conducting more studies with larger population samples to further understand the role of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in this pandemic. However, this pandemic has also affected the efficiency of NCDs treatment indirectly by delaying or canceling sessions and others.

Knowledge of non-communicable diseases and access to healthcare services among adults before and during COVID-19 pandemic in rural Tanzania

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“…In this cohort of respondents with non-communicable diseases, hypertension claimed the highest prevalence, followed by asthma and diabetes. This group of who are probably the most prevalent of NCDs are known to be related to the severe outcomes of COVID-19 infection [20]. Nikoloski et al (2021) reported that patients with NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic respiratory illnesses, chronic kidney, and liver conditions are more likely to be affected by Covid-19 and are more likely to develop a severely critical form of the illness or even dying other average patients [21].…”

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