According to a Californian study, people over the age of 40 with type 1 diabetes are likely to experience severe COVID – leading to hospitalisation or death
Right now, projections suggest that roughly 5.5 million people in the UK will have diabetes by 2030. Diabetes has been listed as a risk factor for COVID death, more likely to happen in deprived communities and to non-white people.
The concept of a diabetes vaccine is a long way off – especially for those who have been living with type 1 diabetes for a while. But a Swedish study could be the beginning of a good thing.
COVID shed light on these connections, teaching public health lessons in a cruel and temporarily unstoppable fashion. Now, scientists are looking at the exact kind of disease that could create a worse health outcome – as vaccination won’t protect everybody or erase the virus on its own.
“Worse outcomes” for this demographic
Dr Carla Demeterco-Berggren, study scientist at the University of California, said: “Our study shows people over 40 with type 1 diabetes have worse outcomes from COVID-19 than children and young adults. Children and young adults experienced milder disease and a better prognosis.
“Public health recommendations, including wearing masks and getting vaccinated, need to be followed by all to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19.”
Children and young adults experienced milder disease and a better prognosis.
The researchers found that patients of COVID over 40, with type 1 diabetes, were seven times more likely to be hospitalised in contract to the 19-40 year old group or the 18 and younger group.
The over-40 group were also likely to experience diabetic ketoacidosis or severe hypoglycemia. Five out of 767 patients unfortunately died over the course of this study.
Dr Demeterco-Berggren further said: “The goal of our study is to prevent poor COVID-19 outcomes for adults with type 1 diabetes and to highlight the need to base health care decisions on data as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves.”
