Diabetes and the Risk of Long-term Post-COVID Symptoms

Abstract

This study investigated the association of diabetes in patients who recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection with the presence of long-term post–coronavirus disease (COVID) symptoms. A case-control study that included individuals hospitalized during the first wave of the pandemic was conducted. Patients with a previous diagnosis of diabetes and under medical control were considered case subjects. Two age- and sex-matched patients without presenting diabetes per case subject were recruited as control subjects. Hospitalization and clinical data were collected from hospital medical records. Patients were scheduled for a telephone interview. A list of post-COVID symptoms was systematically evaluated, but participants were invited to freely report any symptom. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to assess anxiety and depressive symptoms, and sleep quality, respectively. Multivariable conditional logistic regression models were constructed. Overall, 145 patients with diabetes and 144 control subjects without diabetes who had recovered from COVID-19 were assessed at 7.2 (SD 0.6) months after hospital discharge. The number of post-COVID symptoms was similar between groups (incident rate ratio 1.06, 95% CI 0.92–1.24, P = 0.372). The most prevalent post-COVID symptoms were fatigue, dyspnea on exertion, and pain. No between-groups differences in any post-COVID symptom were observed. Similarly, no differences in limitations with daily living activities were found between patients with and without diabetes. Diabetes was not a risk factor for experiencing long-term post-COVID symptoms.