NEWS & EVENTS

Scientific Discovery: COVID-19 raises mortality and complication risks in diabetics

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the heightened health risks faced by diabetic patients infected with COVID-19 have become a critical focus for the medical community. In March 2025, a landmark systematic review and meta-analysis led by Dr. Jialing ZHANG, Ms. Yanfang MA, and Prof. Zhaoxiang BIAN, research members of Vincent V.C. Woo Chinese Medicine Clinical Research Institute, was published in the international journal BMJ Open. This study provided an in-depth exploration of the risks in diabetic patients infected with COVID-19, specifically, the changes and impacts of mortality, diabetic complications, and hematological parameters.

The article was systematically searched for publications on diabetic patients infected with COVID-19 from December 2019 to January 2025, and identified 25 eligible studies from a pool of 13,732 records for analysis. The results revealed the following outcomes for diabetic patients infected with COVID-19:

  • Surge in mortality: Increased to 2.52 times that of uninfected diabetic patients
  • Acute kidney injury: Risk soared to 3.69 times, and creatinine increased by 0.12 mg/dL
  • Deterioration in glycemic control: glucose significantly increased by 20.38 mg/dL in type 1 diabetic patients, and hemoglobin (HbA1c) rose by 0.21% in type 2 diabetic patients
  • Abnormalities in key inflammatory and coagulation markers: C-reactive protein surged by 38.30 mg/L, and D-dimer increased by 1.52 µg/mL  

The study concludes that COVID-19 infection not only severely disrupts glycemic control in diabetic patients, leading to elevated blood glucose levels, but also significantly alters hematological parameters, substantially increases the risk of complications, and ultimately elevates mortality rates.

It is understood that this is the first comprehensive assessment of COVID-19’s impact on disease progression in diabetic patients. The authors call for healthcare institutions to strengthen monitoring and care for diabetic patients infected with COVID-19, tailor more suitable plans of treatment and clinical management for these patients, and support prioritizing vaccination for this high-risk group to reduce adverse outcomes.

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About Dr. Jialing ZHANG

Dr. Jialing ZHANG obtained her PhD degree from the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong. She is a registered Chinese medicine practitioner in both Mainland China and Hong Kong. In 2022, Dr. ZHANG joined Hong Kong Baptist University and currently holds the position of Research Assistant Professor at the School of Chinese Medicine. She is primarily responsible for conducting various studies related to stroke and diabetes.