Impact of diabetes on COVID-19 prognosis beyond comorbidity burden: the CORONADO initiative

Impact of Diabetes on Persistent Radiological Abnormalities and Pulmonary Diffusion Dysfunction in COVID-19 Survivors: A 3-Year Prospective Cohort Study

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

Little is known about the long-term impact of diabetes on lung impairment in COVID-19 survivors over a three-year period. This study evaluated the long-term impact of diabetes on persistent radiological pulmonary abnormalities and lung function impairment in COVID-19 survivors over three years.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this prospective, multicenter, cohort study, pulmonary sequelae were compared between COVID-19 survivors with and without diabetes. Serial chest CT scans, symptom questionnaires and pulmonary function tests were obtained 6 months, 12 months, 2 years and 3 years post-discharge. The independent predictors for lung dysfunction at the 3-year follow-up were analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 278 COVID-19 survivors (63 [IQR 57-69] year-old, female: 103 [37.0%]) were included. At the 3-year follow-up, individuals in the diabetes group had higher incidences of respiratory symptoms, radiological pulmonary abnormalities and pulmonary diffusion dysfunction than those in the control group. Diabetes (OR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.04-4.59, p = 0.034), allergy (OR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.09-4.74, p = 0.029), female (OR: 2.70, 95% CI: 1.37-5.29, p = 0.004), severe COVID-19 (OR: 4.10, 95% CI: 1.54-10.93, p = 0.005), and fibrotic-like CT changes (OR: 5.64, 95% CI: 2.28-13.98, p < 0.001) were independent predictors of pulmonary diffusion dysfunction in COVID-19 survivors.

CONCLUSION

These results highlight the long-term deleterious effect of diabetes status on radiological pulmonary abnormalities and pulmonary dysfunction in COVID-19 survivors. This study provides important evidence support for long-term monitoring of lung abnormalities in COVID-19 recovery survivors with diabetes.

Mortality-related risk factors of inpatients with diabetes and COVID-19: A multicenter retrospective study in Belgium

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

We describe mortality-related risk factors of inpatients with diabetes and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Belgium.

METHODS

We conducted a multicenter retrospective study from March to May, 2020, in 8 Belgian centers. Data on admission of patients with diabetes and COVID-19 were collected. Survivors were compared to non-survivors to identify prognostic risk factors for in-hospital death using multivariate analysis in both the total population and in the subgroup of patients admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU).

RESULTS

The study included 375 patients. The mortality rate was 26.4% (99/375) in the total population and 40% (27/67) in the ICU. Multivariate analysis identified older age (HR 1.05 [CI 1.03-1.07], P<0.0001) and male gender (HR 2.01 [1.31-3.07], P=0.0013) as main independent risk factors for in-hospital death in the total population. Metformin (HR 0.51 [0.34-0.78], P=0.0018) and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers (HR 0.56 [0.36-0.86], P=0.0088) use before admission were independent protective factors. In the ICU, chronic kidney disease (CKD) was identified as an independent risk factor for death (HR 4.96 [2.14-11.5], P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

In-hospital mortality due to the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium was high in patients with diabetes. We found that advanced age and male gender were independent risk factors for in-hospital death. We also showed that metformin use before admission was associated with a significant reduction of COVID-19-related in-hospital mortality. Finally, we showed that CKD is a COVID-19-related mortality risk factor in patients with diabetes admitted in the ICU.

Association of serum amyloid A and prognosis in people with diabetes and COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study

AIMS/INTRODUCTION

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is an acute phase reactive protein that plays a vital role in the early diagnosis, risk prediction, efficacy observation and prognosis evaluation of infectious diseases. This study aimed to assess the association between SAA levels and the prognosis of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and diabetes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We carried out this retrospective cohort study from March 2022 to May 2022. The population was stratified by tertiles of SAA levels: low (<8.5 mg/L), medium (8.5-36 mg/L) and high (>36 mg/L). The primary outcome was whether the patient developed severe COVID-19, and secondary outcomes included the need for invasive mechanical ventilation and length of hospital stay. Logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with COVID-19 and diabetes.

RESULTS

We analyzed 910 diabetes patients with COVID-19. The median age of the patients was 69 years, and 52.3% were men. As SAA levels increased, the proportion of severe COVID-19 (6.3% vs 7.3% vs 22.8%, P < 0.001) and the proportion of invasive mechanical ventilation also increased among the three groups. Patients with high SAA levels had a longer length of hospital stay compared with patients with medium SAA and low SAA levels. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that SAA >36 mg/L further increased the odds ratio to 4.423 (P < 0.001) for the development of severe COVID-19 compared with low SAA. Multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age and sex, confirmed that SAA >36 mg/L remained an independent risk factor for the development of severe COVID-19 (adjusted odds ratio 3.038, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

SAA levels are strongly associated with poor prognosis in patients with COVID-19 and diabetes.

Diabetes and Multiple Long-term Conditions: A Review of Our Current Global Health Challenge

Use of effective treatments and management programs is leading to longer survival of people with diabetes. This, in combination with obesity, is thus contributing to a rise in people living with more than one condition, known as multiple long-term conditions (MLTC or multimorbidity). MLTC is defined as the presence of two or more long-term conditions, with possible combinations of physical, infectious, or mental health conditions, where no one condition is considered as the index. These include a range of conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic kidney disease, arthritis, depression, dementia, and severe mental health illnesses. MLTC has major implications for the individual such as poor quality of life, worse health outcomes, fragmented care, polypharmacy, poor treatment adherence, mortality, and a significant impact on health care services. MLTC is a challenge, where interventions for prevention and management are lacking a robust evidence base. The key research directions for diabetes and MLTC from a global perspective include system delivery and care coordination, lifestyle interventions and therapeutic interventions.

Factors contributing to poor COVID-19 outcomes in diabetic patients: Findings from a single-center cohort study

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a frequent comorbidity in patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The risk of developing severe or critical COVID-19 and higher mortality was observed to be increased in diabetic patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. In this study we aimed to find out the impact of clinical characteristics, comorbidities, laboratory results, and complications on the outcomes of diabetic patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. This article is a retrospective cohort study that include diabetic patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection. A definition of diabetes was based on the past history of diabetes or if the HbA1c was 6.5% or higher. Demographics, clinical characteristics, comorbidities, laboratory results, and complications were extracted from the electronic medical records. The mortality rate increased with increasing age (from 5.56% in younger patients to 46% in the elderly) and with severity (from 25.71% in moderate cases to 43.77% in critical cases). We found that a critical severity on admission (OR: 5.26, 95% CI: 1.28-21.66, p = 0.0214), a history of stroke (OR: 8.37, 95% CI: 2.2-31.88, p = 0.0018), and low calcium levels on admission (OR: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.01-4.91, p = 0.0475) were significant risk factors predicting higher COVID-19 mortality in diabetic patients. The findings of this study suggest that reduced calcium levels could potentially indicate higher mortality due to COVID-19 in patients with DM. Furthermore, careful monitoring of diabetic patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection, especially those with critical disease severity or those with a history of stroke, may improve their outcome and lessen mortality.

The Use of Multidimensional Nomial Logistic Model and Structural Equation Model in the Validation of the 14-Item Health-Literacy Scale in Chinese Patients Living with Type 2 Diabetes

Objective

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the 14-item health literacy scale (HL-14) in patients living with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in clinical setting.

Methods

Cross-sectional study using item response theory and structural equation modeling (SEM) for testing the item difficulty and three dimensional-HL configurations was adopted in this study. Chinese patients living with T2DM admitted to endocrinology department of Huadong hospital were evaluated by the HL-14 including communication, functional and critical health literacy from August to December 2021.

Results

The multidimensional random coefficients multinomial logistic model indicated the difficulty settings of the scale are appropriate for the study populations, and differential item functioning was not observed for sex in the study. SEM demonstrated that the three-dimensional configuration of the scale is good in the study population (x2/df=2.698, Comparative Fit Index = 0.965, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.076, standard residual mean root = 0.042).

Conclusion

The HL-14 scale is a reliable and valid measurement, which can perform equitably across sex in evaluating the health literacy in Chinese patients living with T2DM. Moreover, the scale may help fill the gaps of multidimensional health literacy assessment and rapid screening of health literacy ability for clinical practice.

Mild Hyperglycaemia in Hospitalised Children with Moderate COVID-19 Infection

Background and Objectives: COVID-19 infection may influence many physiological processes, including glucose metabolism. Acute hyperglycaemia has been related to a worse prognosis in patients with severe COVID-19 infection. The aim of our study was to find out if moderate COVID-19 infection is associated with hyperglycaemia. Materials and Methods: A total of 235 children were enrolled in the study between October 2021 and October 2022, 112 with confirmed COVID-19 infection and 123 with other RNA viral infection. In all patients, types of symptoms, glycaemia at the time of admission, and basic anthropometric and biochemical parameters were recorded. Results: Average glycaemia was significantly higher in COVID-19 patients compared to other viral infections (5.7 ± 1.12 vs. 5.31 ± 1.4 mmol/L, p = 0.011). This difference was more obvious in subgroups with gastrointestinal manifestations (5.6 ± 1.11 vs. 4.81 ± 1.38 mmol/L, p = 0.0006) and with fever (5.76±1.22 vs. 5.11±1.37 mmol/L, p = 0.002), while no significant difference was found in subgroups with mainly respiratory symptoms. The risk of hyperglycaemia (>5.6 mmol/L) was higher in COVID-19 patients compared to other viral infections (OR = 1.86, 95%CI = 1.10-3.14, p = 0.02). The risk of hyperglycaemia was significantly higher in COVID-19 compared to other viral infections in the subgroups of patients with fever (OR = 3.59, 95% CI 1.755-7.345, p = 0.0005) and with gastrointestinal manifestations (OR = 2.48, 95% CI 1.058-5.791, p = 0.036). Conclusion: According to our results, mild hyperglycaemia was significantly more common in children with moderate COVID-19 infection compared to other RNA virus respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, especially when accompanied by fever or gastrointestinal symptoms.

Early humoral response to COVID-19 vaccination in patients living with obesity and diabetes in France. The COVPOP OBEDIAB study with results from the ANRS0001S COV-POPART cohort

BACKGROUND

Patients with diabetes and obesity are populations at high-risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes and have shown blunted immune responses when administered different vaccines. Here we used the 'ANRS0001S COV-POPART' French nationwide multicenter prospective cohort to investigate early humoral response to COVID-19 vaccination in the sub-cohort ('COVPOP OBEDIAB') of patients with obesity and diabetes.

METHODS

Patients with diabetes (n = 390, type 1 or 2) or obesity (n = 357) who had received two vaccine doses and had no history of previous COVID-19 infection and negative anti-nucleocapsid (NCP) antibodies were included and compared against healthy subjects (n = 573). Humoral response was assessed at baseline, at one month post-first dose (M0) and one-month post-second dose (M1), through percentage of responders (positive anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies (Sabs), geometric means of Sabs; BAU/mL), proportion of individuals with anti-RBD antibodies, and proportion of individuals with anti-SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralizing antibodies (Nabs). Potential clinical and biological factors associated with weak response (defined as Sabs < 264 BAU/mL) and presence of non-reactive anti-RBD antibodies at M1 were evaluated. Univariate and multivariate regressions were performed to estimate crude and adjusted coefficients with 95 % confidence intervals. Poor glycemic control was defined as HbA1c ≥ 7.5 % at inclusion.

RESULTS

Patients with diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes, and patients with obesity were less likely to have positive Sabs and anti-RBD antibodies after the first and second dose compared to controls (p < 0.001). At M1, we found Sabs seroconversion in 94.1 % of patients with diabetes versus 99.7 % in controls, anti-RBD seroconversion in 93.8 % of patients with diabetes versus 99.1 % in controls, and Nabs seroconversion in 95.7 % of patients with diabetes versus 99.6 % in controls (all p < 0.0001). Sabs and anti-RBD seroconversion at M0 and M1 were also significantly lower in obese patients than controls, at respectively 82.1 % versus 89.9 % (p = 0.001; M0 Sabs), 94.4 % versus 99.7 % (p 0.001; M1 Sabs), 79.0 % vs 86.2 % (p = 0.004 M0 anti-RBD), and 96.99 % vs 99.1 % (p = 0.012 M1 anti-RBD). The factors associated with low vaccine response (BAU < 264/mL) in patients with diabetes were chronic kidney disease (adjusted OR = 6.88 [1.77;26.77], p = 0.005) and poor glycemic control (adjusted OR = 3.92 [1.26;12.14], p = 0.018). In addition, BMI ≥ 40 kg/m² was found to be associated with a higher vaccine response (adjusted OR = 0.10 [0.01;0.91], p = 0.040) than patients with BMI < 40 kg/m².

CONCLUSION

COVID-19 vaccine humoral response was lower in patients with obesity and diabetes one month after second dose compared to controls, especially in diabetic patients with CKD or inadequate glycemic control. These findings point to the need for post-vaccination serological checks in these high-risk populations.

Diabetes in all hospitalized cases in Germany 2015-2019 and impact of the first COVID-19 year 2020

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the proportion of diabetes among all hospitalized cases in Germany between 2015 and 2020.

METHODS

Using the nationwide Diagnosis-Related-Groups statistics, we identified among all inpatient cases aged ≥ 20 years all types of diabetes in the main or secondary diagnoses based on ICD-10 codes, as well all COVID-19 diagnoses for 2020.

RESULTS

From 2015 to 2019, the proportion of cases with diabetes among all hospitalizations increased from 18.3% (3.01 of 16.45 million) to 18.5% (3.07 of 16.64 million). Although the total number of hospitalizations decreased in 2020, the proportion of cases with diabetes increased to 18.8% (2.73 of 14.50 million). The proportion of COVID-19 diagnosis was higher in cases with diabetes than in those without in all sex and age subgroups. The relative risk (RR) for a COVID-19 diagnosis in cases with vs without diabetes was highest in age group 40-49 years (RR in females: 1.51; in males: 1.41).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of diabetes in the hospital is twice as high as the prevalence in the general population and has increased further with the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring the increased morbidity in this high-risk patient group. This study provides essential information that should help to better estimate the need for diabetological expertise in inpatient care settings.

The association between macrovascular complications and intensive care admission, invasive mechanical ventilation, and mortality in people with diabetes hospitalized for coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19)

BACKGROUND

It is not clear whether pre-existing macrovascular complications (ischemic heart disease, stroke or peripheral artery disease) are associated with health outcomes in people with diabetes mellitus hospitalized for COVID-19.

METHODS

We conducted cohort studies of adults with pre-existing diabetes hospitalized for COVID-19 infection in the UK, France, and Spain during the early phase of the pandemic (between March 2020-October 2020). Logistic regression models adjusted for demographic factors and other comorbidities were used to determine associations between previous macrovascular disease and relevant clinical outcomes: mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and use of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) during the hospitalization. Output from individual logistic regression models for each cohort was combined in a meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Complete data were available for 4,106 (60.4%) individuals. Of these, 1,652 (40.2%) had any prior macrovascular disease of whom 28.5% of patients died. Mortality was higher for people with compared to those without previous macrovascular disease (37.7% vs 22.4%). The combined crude odds ratio (OR) for previous macrovascular disease and mortality for all four cohorts was 2.12 (95% CI 1.83-2.45 with an I² of 60%, reduced after adjustments for age, sex, type of diabetes, hypertension, microvascular disease, ethnicity, and BMI to adjusted OR 1.53 [95% CI 1.29-1.81]) for the three cohorts. Further analysis revealed that ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease were the main contributors of adverse outcomes. However, proportions of people admitted to ICU (adjOR 0.48 [95% CI 0.31-0.75], I² 60%) and the use of IMV during hospitalization (adjOR 0.52 [95% CI 0.40-0.68], I² 37%) were significantly lower for people with previous macrovascular disease.

CONCLUSIONS

This large multinational study of people with diabetes mellitus hospitalized for COVID-19 demonstrates that previous macrovascular disease is associated with higher mortality and lower proportions admitted to ICU and treated with IMV during hospitalization suggesting selective admission criteria. Our findings highlight the importance correctly assess the prognosis and intensive monitoring in this high-risk group of patients and emphasize the need to design specific public health programs aimed to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in this subgroup.