AIIMS-ICMR study debunks COVID vaccine link to sudden deaths; cardiovascular disease remains primary cause
NEW DELHI: There is no scientific evidence linking COVID-19 vaccination to sudden deaths among young adults, a latest AIIMS-ICMR study has said. The study found that most sudden deaths in India among both the young and old is due to cardiovascular diseases. Also, smoking and alcohol intake was equally prevalent in those who died young and at old age. The year-long study, published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, the flagship journal of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), found that while the mean age for sudden death among young was 33.6 years, for old it was 53.8 years. Males predominated in both the categories. The researchers closely examined sudden death cases of people aged between 18 and 45 years using verbal autopsy, post-mortem imaging, conventional autopsy and detailed histopathological tests. According to the findings, there was no statistically significant association between COVID-19 vaccination status and sudden deaths in the young population. The present study did not find any significant correlation between COVID-related history or vaccination status, it said. Dr. Sudheer Arava, Professor in the Department of Pathology, AIIMS, and co-author of the study, said public health discourse must be guided by credible research and scientific evidence, not misinformation. The study also noted that both COVID-19 infection history and vaccination status were similar across younger and older age groups, and no causal link between vaccination and sudden deaths was found. These results, the researchers said, are in line with global scientific evidence that supports the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. Out of 2214 autopsies, 180 cases (8.1%) met the criteria for sudden death. Sudden death in the young accounted for 103 (57.2%) cases. Among the total sudden deaths, sudden death in young (18-45 years) accounted for 57.2 per cent (103 cases) and sudden death in old (46-65 year) accounted for 42.8 per cent (77 cases). While sudden deaths due to cardiovascular reasons was the leading cause among young, it is followed by respiratory causes, and then unexplained deaths. The other reasons were gastrointestinal, central nervous system, and genitourinary pathologies. The study said Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the single most common cause of sudden death in older individuals (46-65 years), constituting 72.1 per cent. It is followed by sudden unexplained deaths (14.1%), gastrointestinal (7.4%) and pulmonary causes (4. 4%). The researchers defined sudden death as a death that occurs within one hour of onset of symptoms in witnessed cases and/or within 24 hour of last being seen alive in unwitnessed cases. On sudden deaths, the researchers, drawnfrom a multidisciplinary team of experts, said,It is one of the major public health concerns noted amongst all age groups, gender, socio-economic strata and ethnic categories. Despite major advancements in health care, sudden death remains a significant public health burden with substantial mortality. About 71.6 per cent of the total sudden death cases were residents of Delhi and NCR region, while others belonged to neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab. About 80.2 per cent belonged to the lower and middle socioeconomic class. The common symptom seen among sudden deaths was sudden loss of consciousness, while rest complained of uneasiness, shortness of breath, chest pain, gastrointestinal symptoms like abdominal pain and vomiting and fever. While in the young, few were found to be suffering from comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension, tuberculosis, and epilepsy, among the older group, a higher proportion had a history of comorbidities, including diabetes mellitus and hypertension.
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