A couple of in 5 diabetes sufferers in hospital with COVID-19 die inside 28 days – research | UK Information

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More than every fifth diabetes patient hospitalized with COVID-19 dies within 28 days, according to research.

A study by the University of Nantes in France tracked 2,796 diabetes patients who were hospitalized with the virus.

It found that within 28 days 577 (21%) had died and nearly 50% (1,404) had been discharged after a typical nine-day stay.

12% were still in the hospital 28 days after admission and 17% had been transferred to another type of facility.

Last May, a similar study was conducted on a smaller number of people that indicated that 10% of diabetes patients with COVID-19 were dead within seven days of hospitalization.

Dr. Faye Riley, senior research communications officer at Diabetes UK, said the study supported previous research showing risk factors such as age and a history of diabetes complications “put people with diabetes at greater risk of harm when they contract coronavirus” .

“It also provides new insights into factors associated with faster virus recovery.

“Knowing which people with diabetes are at higher risk if they are hospitalized with coronavirus can improve care and save lives.

“But it’s also important to remember that the general risk of death for people with diabetes remains low and has decreased over the past year.

“Since the data was collected in the study, our understanding of the treatment of coronavirus has grown and new drugs that have been shown to lower the risk of death are now routinely used.

“The best way people with diabetes can reduce their risk of developing serious coronavirus is to avoid contact with the virus and get a vaccine.

“In the UK, people with diabetes are now being invited to vaccinate, prioritizing those at highest risk and inviting them for protection. We strongly encourage you to get the vaccine when you offer it.”

The authors of the French study, published in the Diabetologia Journal, said: “Identifying favorable variables associated with discharge from hospital and unfavorable variables associated with death can reclassify the patient and help reduce resources to be used appropriately according to the individual patient profile. “”