What is the relationship between the mortality rate among hospitalised diabetic patients and COVID-19? A systematic review of quantitative studies

Abstract

Background: The global COVID-19 pandemic has significantly contributed to the mortality rate all over the world. Data demonstrates that the people who succumbed to death were often people diagnosed with chronic diseases, particularly diabetes and other underlying risk conditions. Although there are comprehensive studies on COVID-19, there are limited studies examining the relationship between the two COVID-19 and diabetes. Thus, this paper aimed to explore the relationship between the mortality rate among the two diseases, namely COVID-19 and diabetic Mellitus.

 
Methods: An evidence-based systematic approach has been adopted by analysing quantitatively the five studies based on different countries. These studies were cohort and cross-sectional studies based on observing diabetic and non-diabetic patients in various hospitals and health centres during the pandemic phase. The study used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP), and Joann Briggs Institute (JBI) instruments for appraising the validity of the selected studies and synthesised via narrative synthesis.

Results: The findings demonstrated a strong relationship between COVID-19 and diabetic patients’ death rate. Moreover, this paper also explained why COVID-19 infection had a fatal impact on diabetic patients, particularly elderly and young participants. It was found that obese diabetic patients, and participants with higher levels of HbA1c, LDH and C-reactive protein, were more affected than other Covid-19 infected patients. Also, this review revealed that HbA1c is equally connected to the mortality rate in diabetic and undiagnosed diabetic people.

Conclusions: The results enhance the concern on the control mechanism of blood glucose levels, LDH and CRP to policymakers and health communities. Also, suggest more research on this area with a larger sample size and control group of diabetic people with HbA1c as an essential element so that the risk of infection is minimised, and the mortality rate is diminished. Additionally, tackling poverty and obesity problems in communities is key to preventing diabetes mellitus.