It was found that mortality, vision loss, and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) hospitalization rates for patients with diabetes have skyrocketed during the pandemic. systematic review Of 138 studies from around the world.
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts (UMass) and the University of Leicester, UK The research team analyzed data from 138 studies published between January 2020 and June 2023 on the impact of coronavirus-related disruptions on clinical outcomes for people with diabetes. The study included more than 1 million people with diabetes and compared pre-pandemic and pandemic periods.
Studies included North America (39), Western Europe (39), Asia (17), Eastern Europe (14), South America (4), Egypt (1), Australia (1), and multiple (33 cases). .
Reviews are posted on Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.
Increase in all-cause diabetes-related deaths
of Six studies examining all-cause mortality and 13 studies on diabetes-related mortality found consistent increases in both deaths, and six of these found an increase in vision loss. Adult and mixed samples have shown increased frequency or severity of diabetic ketoacidosis (a potentially life-threatening complication) among children and adolescents but not adults (in some cases due to new-onset diabetes), but not in adults (69 studies). Data from 35 studies suggest that although hospitalizations among adults are decreasing, rates of diabetes-related PICU admissions are high.
Data on pediatric ICU admissions and pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis are perhaps the most shocking findings from this review.
proportion of nNew-onset type 1 diabetes was more common than expected, and symptoms in children with this type of disease were much more severe than before the pandemic. The effects related to the pandemic were most pronounced among women, young people, and racial minorities. “Further research is needed to explore the long-term effects of the pandemic…potential differential effects risk further exacerbating existing inequalities among people with diabetes,” the authors wrote. writing.
Within UMass press releaseCo-lead author Jamie Hartman Boyce, DPhil, assistant professor of health policy at the University of Massachusetts, said: “The data on pediatric ICU admissions and pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis are perhaps the most shocking findings from this study,” she said. “This trend is very consistent across countries, and admission to a pediatric ICU is a major event for children and their families.”
