Type 2 diabetes is at higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than type 1 diabetes, study claims

With type 2 diabetes, the risk of dying from COVID-19 is higher than with type 1 diabetes. This is evidenced by the results of the ACCREDIT study conducted by specialists from the UK.

According to the UK's National Health System (NHS), the risk of dying from coronavirus infection in people with type 1 diabetes is 3.5 times higher than in people without diabetes. But with type 2 diabetes, this risk is 2 times higher.

The results of a new study presented during the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) refute these conclusions.

The study included 1,004 patients with both types of diabetes mellitus hospitalized with COVID-19. The average age was 74.1 years, most of them were men (60.7%). More than half of the participants (56.2%) had various vascular complications of diabetes, such as neuropathy or retinopathy.

It turned out that people with type 2 diabetes have a 2.5 times higher risk of dying within a week after hospitalization compared to patients with type 1 diabetes. According to the authors of the study, this may be due to an age factor: type 2 diabetes develops more often in older people and may be accompanied by other chronic diseases.

The researchers also noticed that nearly one in ten diabetic patients required intravenous insulin during treatment, including those who did not previously need it. The mortality rate among such people was half that of those who received other treatment. Scientists have suggested that this may be due to better control of blood sugar levels in patients, which improves their survival.

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