Diabetes related phenotypes and their influence on outcomes of patients with corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Introduction Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with severe forms of COVID-19 but little is known about the diabetes-related phenotype considering pre-admission, on-admission and data covering the entire hospitalization period.Methods We analyzed COVID-19 inpatients (n = 3327) aged 61.2(48.2-71.4) years attended from March to September 2020 in a public hospital.Results DM group (n = 1218) differed from Non-DM group (n = 2109) by higher age, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure and lower O2 saturation on admission. Gender, ethnicity and COVID-19-related symptoms were similar. Glucose and several markers of inflammation, tissue injury and organ dysfunction were higher among patients with diabetes: troponin, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine phosphokinase (CPK), C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate, brain natriuretic peptide, urea, creatinine, sodium, potassium but lower albumin levels. Hospital (12 x 11 days) and intensive care unit permanence (10 x 9 days) were similar but DM group needed more vasoactive, anticoagulant and anti-platelet drugs, oxygen therapy, endotracheal intubation and dialysis. Lethality was higher in patients with diabetes (39.3% x 30.7%) and increased with glucose levels and age, in male sex and with BMI < 30 kg/m2 in both groups (obesity paradox). It was lower with previous treatment with ACEi/BRA in both groups. Ethnicity and education level did not result in different outcomes between groups. Higher frequency of comorbidities (hypertension, cardiovascular/renal disease, stroke), of inflammatory (higher leucocyte number, RCP, LDH, troponin) and renal markers (urea, creatinine, potassium levels and lower sodium, magnesium) differentiated lethality risk between patients with and without diabetes.Conclusions Comorbidities, inflammatory markers and renal disfunction but not Covid-19-related symptoms, obesity, ethnicity and education level differentiated lethality risk between patients with and without diabetes.

Automated summary

This study analyzed the differences between diabetic and non-diabetic COVID-19 inpatients. The results showed that diabetic patients were more likely to have abnormal glucose metabolism, inflammatory response, and organ damage, and had a higher mortality rate. Factors related to blood glucose levels, age, gender, and BMI also influenced the mortality risk in diabetic patients.