COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in people affected by diabetes and strategies to increase vaccine compliance: A systematic narrative review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: People affected by diabetes are at higher risk for complications from certain vaccine-preventable diseases. Suboptimal vaccination coverages are reported in this population sub-group. The purpose of this study is to estimate the proportion of diabetic patients who express hesitation to the COVID-19 vaccine worldwide. METHODS: Seven studies were included in the meta-analysis and systematic review, selected from scientific articles available in the MEDLINE/PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus databases from 2020 to 2022. The following terms were used for the search strategy: (adherence OR hesitancy OR compliance OR attitude) AND (covid* OR SARS*) AND (vaccin* OR immun*) AND (diabet*). RESULTS: The vaccine hesitation rate among persons with diabetes was 27.8 % (95 %CI = 15.6–41.9 %). In the comparison of vaccine hesitancy between sexes and educational status, the RRs were 0.90 (95 %CI = 0.71–1.15) and 0.88 (95 %CI = 0.76–1.02), respectively. The main reasons of unwillingness were lack of information, opinion that the vaccine was unsafe or not efficient, and fear of adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: In order to achieve a high vaccination coverage, multifactorial approach is needed, which requires major social, scientific and health efforts. The success of the vaccination campaign in this population depends on the capillarity and consistency of the interventions implemented.