Immune status determined as per guidelines of Ayurveda found associated with clinical outcomes of COVID-19 disease – Results of a cross-sectional pilot study

BACKGROUND: A key public health priority during the emergence of a novel pathogen is probing the factors contributing in clinical severity of the disease COVID-19. Moreover, analysis of the determined clinical outcomes is required and thus, modifiable predictor values need to identified. In Ayurveda, outcome of a disease is a multivariate function and this exploratory work is an attempt to identify one such factor “Vyadhiksamatwa” (immune status). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in fifty diagnosed cases of COVID–19. Study participants were subjected to a questionnaire to assess relationship between the three determinants of the disease - exposure, clinical severity, and Vyadhiksamatwa. RESULTS: Clinical severity was found strongly correlated with Vyadhiksmatwa with the value of Pearson Correlation - 0.740 significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). CONCLUSION: In the determination of clinical severity of disease, there are two epidemiological factors responsible – extrinsic (exposure) and intrinsic (Vyadhiksamatwa). It has been observed that higher the value of Vyadhiksamatwa of an individual, lesser will be the clinical severity of the disease in that individual. Vyadhiksamatwa can alter the host response to infections.