COVID-19 Case Management Outcomes Amongst Diabetes and Hypertensive Patients in the United Arab Emirates: A Prospective Study

Aysha Alkhemeiri (), Shaikha Al Zaabi, Jeyaseelan Lakshmanan, Ziad El-Khatib and Niyi Awofeso
Additional contact information
Aysha Alkhemeiri: Department of Medicine, Tawam Hospital, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 15258, United Arab Emirates
Shaikha Al Zaabi: Internal Medicine Department, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai P.O. Box 505055, United Arab Emirates
Jeyaseelan Lakshmanan: Biostatistics Department, Mohammed Bin Rashed University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai P.O. Box 505055, United Arab Emirates
Ziad El-Khatib: Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden
Niyi Awofeso: School of Health and Environmental Studies, Hamdan Bin Muhammed Smart University, Dubai P.O. Box 71400, United Arab Emirates

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: The global pandemic of the novel Coronavirus infection 2019 (COVID-19) challenged the care of comorbid patients. The risk imposed by COVID-19 on diabetes patients is multisystemic, exponential, and involves glucose dysregulation. The increased burden for diabetes patients infected with COVID-19 is substantial in countries with a high prevalence of diabetics, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study aims to explore the prevalence of diabetes, clinical characteristic, and outcomes of patients admitted for COVID-19 treatment with or without a concurrent preadmission diagnosis of diabetes. A prospective study was performed on 1199 adults admitted with confirmed COVID-19 from December 2020 to April 2021 to a single hospital in the UAE. The study compared the demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes in COVID-19-infected patients with diabetes to patients without diabetes. The study endpoints include the development of new-onset diabetes, admission to ICU, trends in the blood glucose levels, and death. A total of 1199 patients (390 with diabetes) were included in the study. A diabetes prevalence was detected among 9.8% of the study population. Among the diabetes group, 10.8% were morbidly obese, 65.4% had associated hypertension, and 18.9% had coronary artery disease. Diabetes patients showed higher rates of ICU admission (11.1% vs. 7.1%), NIV requirement (9.6% vs. 6.4%), and intubation (5.45% vs. 2%) compared to the non-diabetes group. Advanced age was a predictor of a worsening COVID-19 course, while diabetes ( p < 0.050) and hypertension ( p < 0.025) were significant predictors of death from COVID-19. Nearly three-fourths (284 (73.4%)) of the diabetic patients developed worsened hyperglycemia as compared to one-fifth (171 (20.9%)) of the nondiabetic patients. New-onset diabetes was detected in 9.8% of COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 severity is higher in the presence of diabetes and is associated with worsening hyperglycemia and poor clinical outcomes. Preexisting hypertension is a predictor of COVID-19 severity and death.

Keywords: COVID-19; diabetes type 2; diabetes prevalence; outcomes; mortality; United Arab Emirates (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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