The influence of diabetes and hyperglycemia on short and long-term mortality after the first-ever known COVID-19 infection

Abstract

Aims

To evaluate previous diabetes and hyperglycemia in post-COVID-19 mortality.

Methods

We evaluated patients with diabetes (previous diabetes and use of medication and random glucose ≥ 200 mg/dl and HbA1C ≥ 6.5 % or 48 mmol/mol) and patients without diabetes with hyperglycemia 1 year before COVID-19. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence intervals, 95 %CI were calculated for all-cause mortality (1-week to 1-year) among those with diabetes (only), diabetes with comorbidities (hypertension, chronic kidney disease-CKD), and patients without diabetes but with hyperglycemia (≥ 100 ≥ 110 and ≥ 126 mg/dl).

Results

Of 455 patients, 30.1 % had diabetes. Diabetes only had a high mortality risk in 7 days (HR: 6.24; 95 %CI: 1.03–37.77). Diabetes with hypertension and CKD were associated with increased mortality risks from 1-week (HR: 7.98; 95 %CI, 1.03–61.70) to 1-year (HR: 2.27; 95 %CI: 1.03–4.99) after COVID-19. Among those without diabetes, FBG ≥ 110 and ≥ 126 mg/dl were associated with more than double the risk of dying in 1-year after COVID-19 infection [1-year HR: 2.80 (95 %CI: 1.10 – 7.22) and 1-year HR: 2.54 (95 %CI:1.10–5.88), respectively].

Conclusions

Diabetes associated with other comorbidities had the highest risks of all-cause mortality in the short and long-term, hyperglycemia was a long-term marker of poor prognostic after COVID-19 infection.