Diabetes Increases Severe COVID-19 Outcomes Primarily in Younger Adults

Abstract

Abstract Context Diabetes is reported as a risk factor for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but whether this risk is similar in all categories of age remains unclear. Objective To investigate the risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes in hospitalized patients with and without diabetes according to age categories. Design Setting and Participants We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study of 6314 consecutive patients hospitalized for COVID-19 between February and 30 June 2020 in the Paris metropolitan area, France; follow-up was recorded until 30 September 2020. Main Outcome Measure(s) The main outcome was a composite outcome of mortality and orotracheal intubation in subjects with diabetes compared with subjects without diabetes, after adjustment for confounding variables and according to age categories. Results Diabetes was recorded in 39% of subjects. Main outcome was higher in patients with diabetes, independently of confounding variables (hazard ratio [HR] 1.13 [1.03-1.24]) and increased with age in individuals without diabetes, from 23% for those <50 to 35% for those >80 years but reached a plateau after 70 years in those with diabetes. In direct comparison between patients with and without diabetes, diabetes-associated risk was inversely proportional to age, highest in <50 years and similar after 70 years. Similarly, mortality was higher in patients with diabetes (26%) than in those without diabetes (22%, P < 0.001), but adjusted HR for diabetes was significant only in patients younger than age 50 years (HR 1.81 [1.14-2.87]). Conclusions Diabetes should be considered as an independent risk factor for the severity of COVID-19 in young adults more so than in older adults, especially for individuals younger than 70 years.