Completed by researchers at The Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science in NDPCHS and collaborators from Queen Mary University of London, the study found that on average, adults living in England with type 2 diabetes lost weight, while those with hypertension maintained a stable weight during the pandemic, but patterns of weight gain varied a lot between individuals (21% of adults with diabetes and 25% of adults with hypertension gained weight rapidly). Women, younger adults, those living in more deprived areas, and those with a history of mental health conditions, had the highest chance of gaining weight rapidly during the pandemic.
COVID-19 restrictions may have influenced weight related behaviours, including patterns of eating and opportunities for exercise. These are of particular relevance to people with type 2 diabetes and/or hypertension as both common conditions interact with a patient’s weight to influence their health.
The authors used the OpenSAFELY research platform to extract anonymised data from the routine healthcare records of adults living with hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes in England during the COVID-19 pandemic. The OpenSAFELY platform facilitates access to an unprecedented scale of NHS data through a Trusted Research Environment. It provides the full dataset of all raw, single-event-level clinical events for all individuals at 40% of all GP practices in England whilst preserving individual people’s privacy.
The findings add to the evidence of inequalities in how the pandemic impacted health. The authors identified key subgroups of individuals at greatest risk of unhealthy patterns of weight gain during the pandemic, who can be targeted for weight management interventions to reduce health inequalities perpetuated by the pandemic.
Read the research: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0492