Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a well-known risk factor for worse clinical outcomes in patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the relationship between these two entities seems to be bidirectional. The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between diabetes and COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study including all patients admitted at the COVID-19 departments of The University Hospital Taher Sfar (Tunisia), between November 2020 and December 2021. We used “The RAPID CORE CASE REPORT FORM” developed by the World Health Organization.

Results: A total of 422 patients were included with a mean age of 59.8±14.7 years (53.2% were females). The type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was present in 32.5% of cases. During hospitalization, 62.5% patients with T2DM presented a poor glycemic controlwith a mean rate of blood glucose level of 12.7±9 mmol/l and a mean rate of hemoglobin A1c of 8.4±2.5%.Hyperglycemic complications among patients with T2DM included diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic syndrome in 48.5% and 12.1% of cases respectively. A quarter of non-diabetic patients affected by COVID-19 was diagnosed with new-onset diabetes.Our survey showed a significantly higher death rate among patients with T2DM (P=0.015).

Discussion and Conclusion: The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 has significantly affected blood glucose control in patients with T2DM. The results of this effects can be classified into direct effects by the viral infection and indirect effects especially by the use of treatments for the COVID-19 infection like corticosteroids, which affect glucose homeostasis and can also induce diabetes. Furthermore, diabetes is a risk factor for worse outcomes and even death in patients with COVID-19.