Drug use & binge drinking, not Covid vaccines, behind sudden deaths: Health Ministry

While COVID‑19 vaccination had no impact on heart attacks among youngsters, an ICMR‑NIE study revealed that family history of sudden death, binge drinking within 48 hours before death, and recreational drug use significantly increased the odds of unexplained sudden death.

In a written response to the Lok Sabha, Union health minister JP Nadda said that the Health Ministry does not maintain cases of heart attacks.

ICMR-NIE conducted a study titled “Factors associated with unexplained sudden deaths among adults aged 18-45 years in India – A multicentric matched case-control study” at 47 tertiary care hospitals located across 19 states and Union Territories of India.

It studied the cases of healthy individuals who did not have any known co-morbidity but died of unexplained causes during October 2021-March 2023.

A total of 729 sudden death cases (those with disease) and 2,916 controls (those who don’t have disease) were included in the analysis. It was observed that receiving two doses of COVID-19 vaccine significantly reduced the odds of unexplained sudden death.

“Hence, the study observed that COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India. Past COVID-19 hospitalisation, family history of sudden death and certain lifestyle behaviours increased the likelihood of unexplained sudden death,” Nadda said.

The study also pointed out that vigorous-intensity physical activity within 48 hours before sudden death was significantly associated with unexplained sudden deaths.

The health minister also cited another study by AIIMS-Delhi in collaboration with ICMR which was conducted to determine the common causes of sudden deaths in young adults.

“Early analysis of data from the AIIMS study indicates that heart attacks, or myocardial infarction, continue to be the leading cause of sudden death in this age group. Importantly, no major changes in the pattern of causes have been observed when compared with previous years before the Covid-19 pandemic. Together, these two studies offer a more comprehensive understanding of sudden unexplained deaths in young adults in India. It has also been revealed that COVID-19 vaccination does not appear to increase the risk, whereas, the role of underlying health issues, genetic predisposition and risky lifestyle choices does play a role in unexplained sudden deaths,” Nadda said.