Clinical Characteristics, Prognosis and Death-related Factors of Diabetic Patients With COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

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BACKGROUND: Most studies have shown that diabetic patients with COVID-19 have a higher proportion of mortality and poor prognosis. However, there are still many controversial issue about the relationship between diabetes and COVID-19. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to summarize the clinical characteristics, disease prognosis and the risk factors for death of COVID-19 patients with diabetes. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang databases were searched for relevant articles. STUDY SELECTION: We included retrospective or prospective original articles comparing the characteristics of diabetic and non-diabetic patients with COVID-19. DATA EXTRACTION: We collected data on demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms and signs, treatments and prognosis, etc. DATA SYNTHESIS: A total of 17 articles met the conditions of this systematic review and meta-analysis, including 1310 diabetic patients. Our research found that elderly male diabetic patients with high body mass index were more susceptible to COVID-19 infection than non-diabetic patients. Besides, COVID-19 patients with diabetes had more underlying comorbidities, were more likely to have various complications and usually need more treatments of mechanical ventilation and intensive care. In addition, male and dyspnea may be risk factors for in-hospital death. LIMITATIONS: There are still a lack of articles on the characteristics of diabetic patients with COVID-19, and further research is needed in a large sample. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes was associated with poor outcomes and mortality in patients with COVID-19. More closely attention should be paid to the treatment and prevention for diabetic patients. Funding Statement: None. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest for this work. Ethics Approval Statement: Since the study is a systematic review of the literature, informed consent and institutional review board approval were not obtained.