Black and Hispanic sufferers with diabetes at larger threat of COVID-19 issues | Information

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Black and Hispanic patients with diabetes at higher risk of COVID-19 complications



Non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics with type 1 diabetes are at higher risk of serious complications or death from COVID-19 than non-Hispanic whites, according to a study published by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The study took place between April and August 2020 and included 180 patients from 52 clinics in the US with type 1 diabetes and a diagnosis of COVID-19. Non-Hispanic white patients made up the bulk of the study with 79 patients, while 55 patients were non-Hispanic blacks and 46 patients were Hispanic descent.

The study found that 55% of non-Hispanic black patients and 33% of Hispanic patients were hospitalized with a dangerous complication known as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), while only 13% of non-Hispanic white patients ins Hospitalized.

DKA is a potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes in which blood is acidified. Insulin, a hormone that helps transfer glucose into cells and provides energy to the body, is usually insufficiently produced in diabetics. Without glucose, the body begins to break down, which can lead to severe reactions such as coma or death.

“When people get infected and sick, they become resistant to the insulin they are given,” said Dr. Irl Hirsch, endocrinologist at the Diabetes Institute of UW Medicine and lead author on the study. “That means ketoacidosis is expressed earlier, and the reason is that instead of the normal amount of insulin they would use to treat glucose, they need a lot more.”

Insulin keeps the body’s blood sugar under control, and viruses like COVID-19 can cause blood sugar to rise even in patients who were perfectly healthy before the infection.

“We see that patients in the hospital are infected with COVID, and even though they do not have diabetes, we have to give them large amounts of insulin to keep their blood sugar under control,” said Hirsch. “Provided they recover and go home, their blood sugar is perfectly normal without insulin. This is how severe the insulin resistance is in COVID. ”

The study also found that non-Hispanic black and Hispanic women were more likely to be admitted to the emergency room than non-Hispanic black and Hispanic men. Hirsch said these results can be explained by the fact that “many women have more interaction with children [and get infected];; The real answer is that nobody knows. “

Beyond these results, the study showed that the medical system needs to be changed.

According to Hirsch, minorities in areas without adequate medical care often avoid hospital visits or wait as long as possible to seek help because they are not insured.

“We talk about the fact that patients feel comfortable and are not financially sacrificed if they have to go to the emergency room sooner rather than later,” said Hirsch. “What we saw in our study is that the patients were late. Instead of being treated in the emergency room and sent home, they had full blown ketoacidosis and had to be admitted. ”

As different variants of COVID-19 emerge and are transmitted around the world, Hirsch raised concerns about the safety of his patients but believed that the vaccines currently being administered are being administered.

“I’m very concerned, but on the other hand, I hope that everything could develop by itself if we can do a better job with the vaccines,” said Hirsch.

Reach contributing writer Lorcan Stokes at news@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @LorcanStokes

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