Coronavirus: Diabetes leads to 1 in 10 dying in hospital within 7 days, finds study

Two-thirds of the patients were men, and the average age across both sexes was 70, the study found.

One in 10 diabetics with coronavirus dies within seven days of hospital admission, according to a study of more than 1,300 patients published Friday in the journal Diabetologia.

Two-thirds of the patients were men, and the average age across both sexes was 70, the study found.
"The presence of diabetic complications and increased age increase the risk of death," the researchers said in a statement.

(1/2) Here's a reminder of where to find our latest coronavirus guidance for people with diabetes: https://t.co/GA7dA3S9Ee

You can also find advice & ideas to help you stay well and manage your diabetes at home here: https://t.co/Ex1wZ1jftG pic.twitter.com/GpbeR236C3
- Diabetes UK (@DiabetesUK) April 24, 2020

"Increased BMI" - body mass index, a ratio of height to weight - "is associated with both increased risk of needing mechanical ventilation and with increased risk of death," they said.

Worse blood sugar control in and of itself, however, did not seem to impact a patient's outcome.

So-called microvascular complications - affecting the eyes, kidney and nerves - were found in nearly half of the patients, who were admitted to 53 French hospitals from March 10 to March 31.

Problems related to larger arteries in the heart, brain and legs were reported in more than 40 per cent of the patients.

The presence of either type of complication doubled the risk of death by the seventh day of hospitalisation.

Patients over 75 years old were 14 times more likely to die than those 55 or younger.