LAUSR

The aim To study the association of demographic, clinical, and laboratory factors and the use of glucose-lowering drugs and anti-coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination with the COVID-19-related case fatality rate (CFR) in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. Methods This study is a nationwide observational cohort study based on the data from the National Diabetes Register (NDR) that is the database containing online clinical information about the population with DM. The outcomes (death or recovery) for COVID-19 were registered in 235,248 patients with DM [type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), n = 11,058; type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), n = 224,190] from March 20, 2020, until November 25, 2021. The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to estimate the risk factors for CFR. Then the ranging of significant factors was performed and the most vulnerable groups of factors for the lethal outcome were chosen. Results The CFR due to COVID-19 was 8.1% in T1DM and 15.3% in T2DM. Increased CFR was associated with the male population [OR = 1.25 (95% CI: 1.09–1.44) in T1DM and 1.18 (95% CI: 1.15–1.21) in T2DM], age ≥65 years [OR = 4.44 (95% CI: 3.75–5.24) in T1DM and 3.18 (95% CI: 3.09–3.26) in T2DM], DM duration ≥10 years [OR = 2.46 (95% CI: 2.06–2.95) in T1DM and 2.11 (95% CI: 2.06–2.16) in T2DM], body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2 [OR = 1.95 (95% CI: 1.52–2.50)] in T1DM, HbA1c ≥7% [OR = 1.35 (95% CI: 1.29–1.43)] in T2DM. The atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) were associated with higher CFR in T1DM but not in T2DM. The pre-COVID-19 glucose-lowering therapy in T2DM was differently associated with CFR (OR): 0.61 (95% CI: 0.59–0.62) for metformin, 0.59 (95% CI: 0.57–0.61) for dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4 inhibitors), 0.46 (95% CI: 0.44–0.49) for sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, 0.38 (95% CI: 0.29–0.51) for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (arGLP-1), 1.34 (95% CI: 1.31–1.37) for sulfonylurea (SU), and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.43–1.51) for insulin. Anti-COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a lower fatality risk in both DM types: OR = 0.07 (95% CI: 0.03–0.20) in T1DM and OR = 0.19 (95% CI: 0.17–0.22) in T2DM. Conclusions The results of our study suggest that increased COVID-19-related fatality risk in both T1DM and T2DM patients associated with the male population, older age, longer DM duration, and absence of anti-COVID-19 vaccination. In T2DM, pre-COVID-19 glucose-lowering therapy with metformin, DPP-4 inhibitors, SGLT2 inhibitors, and arGLP-1 had a positive effect on the risk of death. The most vulnerable combination of risk factors for lethal outcome in both DM types was vaccine absence + age ≥65 years + DM duration ≥10 years.