Impact of diabetes on the severity of COVID-19 infection in pregnant women - A single-center descriptive study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Pregnant women have significant morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19 infection. Pregnancy and diabetes are known risk factors for severe COVID 19 infection. Understanding the interactions between COVID-19 and diabetes in pregnancy is crucial in developing appropriate therapeutic approaches. India, like many other countries, has a very high prevalence of diabetes and COVID-19 infected cases. Such studies are minimal worldwide and none from India to the best of our knowledge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We did a retrospective cross-sectional study. 856 COVID-19 infected pregnant women were included in the study. We estimated the impact of diabetes on the severity of COVID-19 infected pregnant women and compared the outcomes with the non-diabetic group. RESULTS: Prevalence of diabetes in pregnancy in the present study was 15.43%(n = 132/856). Prevalence of diabetes in non-severe infection was 14%(n = 115/818), severe infection was 44.73%(n = 17/38), and in maternal deaths was 75% (n = 6/8). The age-adjusted odds ratio for diabetes for severe infection was 4.492 (95% CI = 2.277–8.865, p < 0.001). COVID-19 infected pregnant women with diabetes were at higher risk for Cesarean section (78.3%) and ICU admission for newborns (14.81%) CONCLUSION: Diabetes in pregnant women is strongly associated with the severity of COVID-19 infection. The prevalence of diabetes in pregnancy increases as the severity of COVID-19 infection increases. Diabetes is associated with more adverse outcomes in mothers and newborns. It is necessary to identify pregnant women with diabetes and prioritize them in public health interventions like vaccination.