New French study suggests 10% of diabetes patients who contract COVID-19 die within a week

According to a study published in the journal Diabetologia on 29th May 2020, one out of 10 diabetic patients admitted in the hospital die within a week. Doctors had already advised older people and others with comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma or long-term illness to remain extra cautious as they are more prone to get severe symptoms of COVID-19 infection. The new study goes on to provide further evidence of the connection between diabetes and COVID-19. [caption id=“attachment_2711094” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Getty images[/caption]

CORONADO: The French study

CORONADO is a French nationwide study which stands for Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and Diabetes Outcomes. CORONADO aimed to assess the health of patients with diabetes hospitalised for COVID-19 and to determine the occurrence of death in these patients within the first 7 days of getting admitted and the factors that lead to severity of COVID-19 in diabetic patients. Under CORONADO, the French hospitals were asked to share their data on hospitalised COVID-19 patients with diabetes. Professor Bertrand Cariou and Professor Samy Hadjadj, diabetologists from France, collected this data for the period between 10th March and 10th April 2020. The study included more than 1,300 patients out of which 89% had type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes) and 3% had type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes) and the average age of the patients was 70 years. Most of the patients included in the study were men.

Result of the study

The results of the study showed that in the CORONADO participants, there was a high prevalence of fever, fatigue, cough, dyspnoea (shortness of breath) but digestive symptoms were less prevalent. The study showed that out of all the patients admitted, 20.3% of the patients required intubation in the windpipe (tracheal intubation) for mechanical ventilation within 7 days of admission. The study further stated that by the 7th day of hospitalization, 10.6% of the diabetic patients had died. The doctors found that the severity of the diseases in these diabetic patients with COVID-19 infection was not associated with age, sex, long-term glucose control, chronic complications, high blood pressure or medications that affect the blood pressure. However, doctors found that Body Mass Index, which helps in determining obesity in people, was associated with the severity of disease in these diabetic patients.

Scope of improvement

With this study, the doctors concluded that elderly people with long-standing diabetes are at a higher risk of dying due to COVID-19. They further stated that these patients not only have a risk of ketoacidosis (high blood sugar which builds up acidic ketones bodies in the body) but also of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels in the body). This reportedly happens because of the loss of appetite due to COVID-19. The doctors stated that more research is required to find the relationship between obesity and COVID-19 to prevent the occurrence of serious consequences of the disease. For more information, read our article on Why coronavirus is more dangerous for diabetes patients. Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.