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. 2021 Apr;44(4):843-850.
doi: 10.1007/s40618-020-01382-7. Epub 2020 Aug 10.

Impact of diabetes on COVID-19-related in-hospital mortality: a retrospective study from Northern Italy

Affiliations

Impact of diabetes on COVID-19-related in-hospital mortality: a retrospective study from Northern Italy

S Ciardullo et al. J Endocrinol Invest. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of pre-existing diabetes on in-hospital mortality in patients admitted for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: This is a single center, retrospective study conducted at Policlinico di Monza hospital, located in the Lombardy region, Northern Italy. We reviewed medical records of 373 consecutive adult patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 between February 22 and May 15, 2020. Data were collected on diabetes status, comorbid conditions and laboratory findings. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to evaluate the effect of diabetes on in-hospital mortality after adjustment for potential confounding variables.

Results: Mean age of the patients was 72 ± 14 years (range 17-98), 244 (65.4%) were male and 69 (18.5%) had diabetes. The most common comorbid conditions were hypertension (237 [64.8%]), cardiovascular disease (140 [37.7%]) and malignant neoplasms (50 [13.6%]). In-hospital death occurred in 142 (38.0%) patients. In the multivariable model older age (Relative Risk [RR] 1.06 [1.04-1. 09] per year), diabetes (RR 1.56 [1.05-2.02]), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (RR 1.82 [1.13-2.35]), higher values of lactic dehydrogenase and C-reactive protein were independently associated with in-hospital mortality.

Conclusion: In this retrospective single-center study, diabetes was independently associated with a higher in-hospital mortality. More intensive surveillance of patients with this condition is to be warranted.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Diabetes; Mortality; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflicts of interest related to this article were reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Biochemical features of the study population segregated according to in-hospital death or discharge a Lymphocyte count; b Platelet count; c Lactic dehydrogenase; d C-reactive protein

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