Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Glycemic Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Dubai

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on glycemic control and accompanying laboratory parameters in patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Methods: This study is a retrospective cohort study that was done on a multicenter level. It was conducted during the lockdown in 341 individuals. HbA1c was tested to measure glycemic control immediately before and after the lockdown period that lasted for 13 weeks.

Results: The primary outcome was the improvement of mean HbA1C after 13 weeks of lockdown compared to the pre-lockdown HbA1C. It was found that the mean HbA1C improved from 7.5±1.5 to 7.3±1.5 with a p-value of 0.001.

Conclusion: Our study showed that patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus exhibited an improvement in their glycemic control after the period of lockdown.

Keywords: Covid-19; HbA1C; diabetes; lifestyle modifications; lockdown; type 2 diabetes.