In the light of the restrictions placed on people during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially those shielding, how likely is it that old diseases such as scurvy and rickets will return? For those who have been shielding, not everyone has a garden they can go into, diminished fruit and vegetable supply, a lack of natural daylight, etc, will all have an effect, but how significant will that effect be?
In the post-COVID-19 era, the old (chronic, non-infectious) diseases will gain attention with a bang!
Most of the chronic diseases, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, osteoarthritis, ischemic heart disease, COPD, heart failure, and dementia to list a few, are already increasing.
However, nobody is taking a note of it as the main attention, efforts, and resources have been pumped to the COVID-19 and it's collateral damage to so many other aspects of life.
It is "out of sight, out of mind" situation for chronic diseases, and the damaging effects of neglect of these diseases will be known in the post-COVID-19 era.
Actually, the pandemic has gained all attentions and thereby paved the way for other disease to spread more easily via hampering the vaccination programs. Currently, there are some measles outbreaks worldwide.
Mohammad Hossein Razizadeh the pandemic has indeed taken all the attention and left no room for taking care of other diseases. too, but people are still suffering from other diseases.
It seems that we are all agreed that other diseases are being ignored even though people are still suffering from them, and treatment has pretty much stopped. I am also concerned that historical diseases that we had worked hard at eliminating or almost eliminating over the years may see a comback, due to the covid restrictions, diseases like polio, rickets, scurvy, and others. I feel we need to be thinking now about how health can be prevented from taking a backward step.
Promotion of trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle within the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic is of the utmost importance. In the short term recommending multivitamins is perhaps the simplest approach. This may reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 and the other 'historical' diseases mentioned.