Commentary: COVID-19 and diabetes mellitus: What we know, how our patients should be treated now, and what should happen next

Abstract

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has evolved into a worldwide crisis and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020 [1]. The rate of spread, range of clinical manifestations, morbidity, and mortality associated with COVID-19 has prompted special interest in understanding the factors that predispose individuals to infection and severe forms of the disease. Many of the early studies from China overlapped in finding that, in addition to older age, certain chronic medical conditions including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, are a risk factor for severe illness with COVID-19 [2–5].