No Evidence of Increased Hospitalization Rate for COVID-19 in Community-Dwelling Patients With Type 1 Diabetes

Evidence on the association between diabetes and adverse outcomes for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is emerging, but most studies start from observations in hospitalized patients (1–3). Uncertainty remains as to whether the predisposing factor for COVID-19 severity is the multimorbid profile of these patients or dysglycemia itself. In particular, it is unclear whether people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are at high risk for adverse COVID-19 outcomes.\n\nHere, we report the hospitalization rate in community-dwelling people living with T1D during the first 3 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium. We retrospectively analyzed medical records of all adults with T1D that have their diabetes care contract in either of two diabetes specialist centers. All data were retrieved through data queries from the electronic patient record and were checked manually for validity. Hospitalization in other Belgian hospitals was checked using the national electronic patient record. Patients were selected on the basis of their clinical diagnosis. For the study period of 1 February to 30 April, we retrieved hospital admission date, location, and primary indication as well as BMI, glycemic control (HbA1c), blood pressure, history of macroangiopathy, nephropathy, and hypertension, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin …