Patients with diabetes have been listed as people at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Moreover, the relationship between diabetes-related phenotypes and the severity of COVID-19 remains unknown. This observational study aims to to evaluate the risk of disease severity and mortality in association with diabetes in COVID-19 inpatients and identify the clinical and biological features associated with worse outcomes.
The epidemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), a disease caused by the severe acute
respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, rapidly spread worldwide and was
declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020.
It is well known that people with diabetes have increased infection risk, especially for
influenza and pneumonia. Moreover, diabetes was previously reported as a major risk factor
for mortality in people infected with the H1N1 pandemic influenza and, more recently, with
the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) . Epidemiological studies
have quickly and consistently pointed out diabetes as one of the major comorbidities
associated with COVID-19 and affecting its severity.
The prevalence of diabetes in patients with COVID-19 was first reported to range from 5% to
20%. Furthermore, the COVID-19-Associated Hospitalisation Surveillance Network (COVID-NET)
reported a diabetes prevalence of 28.3% in hospitalised patients in the USA.
More importantly, all studies published so far have reported a two- to threefold higher
prevalence of diabetes in patients in ICUs compared with those with less severe disease and
an increased mortality in people with diabetes. A recent meta-analysis further demonstrated
that diabetes was associated with a more than doubled risk for ICU admission and a more than
tripled risk for death.
However, precise data regarding diabetes characteristics in hospitalised people with COVID-19
are still lacking. Moreover, the relationship between diabetes-related phenotypes and the
severity of COVID-19 remains unknown. This study aims to identify the clinical and biological
features and potential interactions of diabetic therapies associated with disease severity
and mortality risk in people hospitalised for COVID-19. Hospital medical records of
inpatients, hospitalized between February 23 to March 31 2020, at the Internal Medicine Unit
dedicated to COVID-19 in the Academic Hospital of Parma, Italy will be analysed.
Inclusion Criteria:
- admission with COVID-19 to the Internal Medicine Unit dedicated to COVID-19 (Macrounit
1), academic hospital in Parma (Italy) between February 23 to March 31 2020.
Exclusion Criteria:
- during hospitalization inter or intra-hospital transfer of inpatients
Endocrinology and metabolic diseases Unit
Parma, Italy
Riccardo Bonadonna, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator
Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Parma