LAUSR

The outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) started in December 2019 in Wuhan (China) and has since spread in more than 200 countries. The pandemic was brought about by a novel virus causing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Among the comorbidities of people suffering from COVID-19, the most prevalent are diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension, all of which are associated with worse outcomes (1). People with diabetes are at increased risk of severe viral respiratory tract infections, including the SARS-CoV, H1N1 influenza, andMiddle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV). The prevalence of diabetes in individuals with COVID-19 has been reported to range between nearly 10% and up to 30%, depending on the location of the study, population, age of participants in the studies, severity of illness, and method of testing (2). Moreover, diabetes has emerged as an important predictor of severity of the SARS-CoV-2, as the risk of fatal outcomes has been reported to be 50% higher in individuals with diabetes than in those without (3). Given the high transmission rate of SARSCoV-2 and the global prevalence of diabetes, which affects nearly half a billion people worldwide, the coexistence of both COVID-19 and diabetes should be considered alarming, as it represents the combination of two pandemics.