Non-COVID-19 deaths among people with diabetes spiked during pandemic

Non-COVID-19-related deaths among people with diabetes increased during the pandemic, as did the diabetes complication of sight loss, according to a global study review led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst public health researcher that examined the impacts of pandemic-related disruptions on this vulnerable population.

The review, commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) and published Jan. 23 in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, looked at 138 studies comparing pre-pandemic to during pandemic periods in North America (39), Western Europe (39), Asia (17), Eastern Europe (14), South America (four), Egypt (one), Australia (one) and multiple regions (33).

“What we found overall was a fairly negative impact on diabetes outcomes,” says co-lead author Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, an assistant professor of health policy and promotion in the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences.

The review also found a startling increase in diabetes-related admissions to pediatric ICUs, as well as a rise in cases of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) among children and adolescents. Some of the cases were due to new-onset diabetes, meaning DKA – a serious, potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes – coincided with the diabetes diagnosis. There was no rise in the frequency or severity of DKA among adults.