Hospitalized COVID‐19 patients with diabetes have an increased risk for pneumonia, intensive care unit requirement, intubation, and death: A cross‐sectional cohort study in Mexico in 2020

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic health condition that has been linked with an increased risk of severe illness and mortality from COVID‐19. In Mexico, the impact of diabetes on COVID‐19 outcomes in hospitalized patients has not been fully quantified. Understanding the increased risk posed by diabetes in this patient population can help healthcare providers better allocate resources and improve patient outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to quantify the extent outcomes (pneumonia, intensive care unit [ICU] stay, intubation, and death) are worsened in diabetic patients with COVID‐19. METHODS: Between April 14, 2020 and December 20, 2020 (last accessed), data from the open‐source COVID‐19 database maintained by the Mexican Federal Government were examined. Utilizing hospitalized COVID‐19 patients with complete outcome data, a retrospective cohort study (N = 402,388) was carried out. In relation to COVID‐19, both univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to investigate the effect of diabetes on specific outcomes. RESULTS: The analysis included 402,388 adults (age >18) with confirmed hospitalized COVID‐19 cases with mean age 46.16 (standard deviation = 15.55), 214,161 (53%) male. The outcomes delineated included pneumonia (N = 88,064; 22%), ICU requirement (N = 23,670; 6%), intubation (N = 23,670; 6%), and death (N = 55,356; 14%). After controlling for confounding variables diabetes continued to be an independent risk factor for both pneumonia (odds ratio [OR]: 1.8, confidence interval [CI]: 1.76−1.84, p < 0.01), ICU requirement (OR: 1.09, CI: 1.04−1.14, p < 0.01), intubation (OR: 1.07, CI: 1.04−1.11, p < 0.01), and death (OR: 1.88, CI: 1.84−1.93, p < 0.01) in COVID‐19 patients. CONCLUSIONS: According to the study, all outcomes (pneumonia, ICU requirement, intubation, and death) were greater among hospitalized individuals with diabetes and COVID‐19. Additional study is required to acquire a better understanding of how diabetes affects COVID‐19 outcomes and to develop practical mitigation techniques for the risk of severe sickness and complications in this particular patient population.