Maheep Kapoor’s terrifying ICU battle: How Covid-19 led to type-1 diabetes

The burden of diabetes is rapidly increasing in the country, among people of all age groups and in a recent episode of Netflix series – Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives – Maheep Kapoor shared her harrowing health journey. She disclosed that a severe bout of Covid-19 in December 2021 led to a shocking diagnosis: severe Type-1 diabetes in March 2022.
Maheep recounted the alarming moment when her sugar levels skyrocketed to 700, following which she was admitted to an ICU and this terrifying health scare left an indelible mark on her kids lives. Commenting on the same in an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Subrata Das, HOD – Internal Medicine and Diabetology at Sakra World Hospital in Bengaluru, shared, “The immune system of the body incorrectly targets healthy tissues, mistaking them for foreign invaders, leading to an autoimmune disease. Furthermore, Covid-19 has a strong effect on the immunological system, which may trigger autoimmune diseases.”
Revealing that a robust immunological response is triggered by Covid-19 as the body combats the virus, Dr Subrata Das explained, “A cytokine storm, a disease in which an overabundance of immune molecules (cytokines) promotes widespread inflammation, can occur when this immune response goes into overdrive. The immune system becoming overactive may cause the body to attack its own cells. Through a process known as “molecular mimicry”, autoimmune disorders can develop when the immune system mistakenly perceives comparable proteins in the body’s tissues as threats while attacking the virus.”

He elaborated, “Numerous autoimmune conditions have been linked to Covid-19 infections, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Type 1 diabetes and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Particularly in people who are genetically prone to autoimmune illnesses, the inflammation brought on by the virus may drive the immune system to target healthy organs. Since Type-1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that can be brought on by viral infections, Covid-19 can reveal Type-1 diabetes in people who are predisposed to it. Diabetes and thyroid problems are examples of autoimmune disorders that can exacerbate one another. Those who have frequent thirst or urination following Covid should get examined for diabetes because there has been a rise in these conditions since the epidemic.”