Post-COVID-19 syndrome and diabetes mellitus: a propensity-matched analysis of the International HOPE-II COVID-19 Registry

• Published in: Frontiers in endocrinology (Lausanne) Vol. 14; p. 1167087
• Main Authors: Abumayyaleh, Mohammad, Núñez Gil, Iván J, Viana-LLamas, María C, Raposeiras Roubin, Sergio, Romero, Rodolfo, Alfonso-Rodríguez, Emilio, Uribarri, Aitor, Feltes, Gisela, Becerra-Muñoz, Víctor Manuel, Santoro, Francesco, Pepe, Martino, Castro Mejía, Alex Fernando, Signes-Costa, Jaime, Gonzalez, Adelina, Marín, Francisco, López-País, Javier, Manzone, Edoardo, Vazquez Cancela, Olalla, Paeres, Carolina Espejo, Masjuan, Alvaro López, Velicki, Lazar, Weiß, Christel, Chipayo, David, Fernandez-Ortiz, Antonio, El-Battrawy, Ibrahim, Akin, Ibrahim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 16.05.2023
• Subjects: diabetes mellitus; Endocrinology; post-COVID-19 syndrome; reinfection; respiratory complications; SARS-CoV-2; vaccination rate; SARS-CoV-2; reinfection; respiratory complications; long-term mortality; diabetes mellitus; post-COVID-19 syndrome; vaccination rate
• ISSN: 1664-2392; 1664-2392
• DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1167087

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most frequent comorbidities in patients suffering from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with a higher rate of severe course of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, data about post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS) in patients with DM are limited. This multicenter, propensity score-matched study compared long-term follow-up data about cardiovascular, neuropsychiatric, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and other symptoms in 8,719 patients with DM to those without DM. The 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) according to age and sex resulted in 1,548 matched pairs. Diabetics and nondiabetics had a mean age of 72.6 ± 12.7 years old. At follow-up, cardiovascular symptoms such as dyspnea and increased resting heart rate occurred less in patients with DM (13.2% vs. 16.4%; = 0.01) than those without DM (2.8% vs. 5.6%; = 0.05), respectively. The incidence of newly diagnosed arterial hypertension was slightly lower in DM patients as compared to non-DM patients (0.5% vs. 1.6%; = 0.18). Abnormal spirometry was observed more in patients with DM than those without DM (18.8% vs. 13; = 0.24). Paranoia was diagnosed more frequently in patients with DM than in non-DM patients at follow-up time (4% vs. 1.2%; = 0.009). The incidence of newly diagnosed renal insufficiency was higher in patients suffering from DM as compared to patients without DM (4.8% vs. 2.6%; = 0.09). The rate of readmission was comparable in patients with and without DM (19.7% vs. 18.3%; = 0.61). The reinfection rate with COVID-19 was comparable in both groups (2.9% in diabetics vs. 2.3% in nondiabetics; = 0.55). Long-term mortality was higher in DM patients than in non-DM patients (33.9% vs. 29.1%; = 0.005). The mortality rate was higher in patients with DM type II as compared to those without DM. Readmission and reinfection rates with COVID-19 were comparable in both groups. The incidence of cardiovascular symptoms was higher in patients without DM.