Severe COVID-19 is associated with increased blood glucose levels

Objectives:
Diabetes mellitus is considered a common comorbidity of COVID-19, which has a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe respiratory symptoms and even death. However, the impact of COVID-19 on blood glucose has not been fully understood. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.

Does COVID-19 infection increase blood glucose and HbA1c levels?  

Study design:
This review article included 3 studies. Study sample sizes ranged from 28 to 151, with a total of 222 COVID-19 patients, including 131 patients in mild group and 91 in severe group. Compared with women, men were more likely to have COVID-19 infection. Moreover, patients with severe COVID-19 were older than those with mild COVID-19.

Results and conclusions:   
The investigators found combined results showed that severe COVID-19 was associated with higher blood glucose levels [WMD = 2.21, 95% CI = 1.30 to 3.13, I2 = 0%, p 0.001].

The investigators found, in addition, HbA1c was slightly higher in patients with severe COVID-19 than those with mild COVID-19, yet this difference did not reach significance [WMD = 0.29, 95% CI = -0.59 to 1.16, I2 = 68.3%, p = 0.52].

The investigators concluded severe COVID-19 is associated with increased blood glucose levels. This highlights the need to effectively monitor blood glucose to improve prognosis in patients infected with COVID-19.

Original title:
The Impact of COVID-19 on Blood Glucose: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by Chen J, Wu C, […], Sun Z.

Link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7570435/

Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on coronavirus right here.