Open AccessA territory‐wide study on the impact of COVID‐19 on diabetes‐related acute care
Author(s) -
Lui David Tak Wai,
Lee Chi Ho,
Chow Wing Sun,
Fong Carol Ho Yi,
Woo Yu Cho,
Lam Karen Siu Ling,
Tan Kathryn Choon Beng
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of diabetes investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.089
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 2040-1124
pISSN - 2040-1116
DOI - 10.1111/jdi.13368
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetes mellitus , glycemic , poisson regression , covid-19 , diabetic ketoacidosis , hypoglycemia , incidence (geometry) , emergency medicine , pandemic , outbreak , pediatrics , type 1 diabetes , rate ratio , disease , intensive care medicine , environmental health , infectious disease (medical specialty) , endocrinology , confidence interval , virology , population , physics , optics
Diabetes is a risk factor for the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). Little is known how the COVID‐19 pandemic has disrupted diabetes‐related acute care. We compared hospitalization rates for severe hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia during the COVID‐19 outbreak in Hong Kong (study period: 25 January to 24 April 2020) with those during 25 January to 24 April 2019 (inter‐year control) and 25 October 2019 to 24 January 2020 (intra‐year control), using Poisson regression analysis. Hospitalization rates abruptly decreased after the first confirmed local COVID‐19 case on 23 January 2020, by 27% and 23% compared with the inter‐year and intra‐year control periods, respectively (incidence rate ratio 0.73 and 0.77, P < 0.001). Hospitalizations were reduced for severe hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, but not diabetic ketoacidosis. This significant reduction in hospitalization rates should alert endocrinologists to take proactive measures to optimize glycemic control of individuals with diabetes.