Fasting blood glucose level is a predictor of mortality in patients with COVID-19 independent of diabetes history

Cai, Yuli; Shi, Shaobo; Yang, Fan; Yi, Bo; Chen, Xiaolin; Li, Junfeng; Wen, Zhongyuan

Aim No study elucidated the role of fasting blood glucose (FBG) level in the prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods This cohort study was conducted in a single center at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China. Clinical laboratory, and treatment data of inpatients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were collected and analyzed. Outcomes of patients with and without pre-existing diabetes were compared. The associations of diabetes history and/or FBG levels with mortality were analyzed. Multivariate cox regression analysis on the risk factors associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 was performed. Results A total of 941 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were enrolled in the study. There was a positive relationship between pre-existing diabetes and the mortality of patients who developed COVID-19 (21 of 123 [17.1%] vs 76 of 818 [9.3%]; P =0.012). FBG≥7.0 mmol/L was an independent risk factor for the mortality of COVID-19 regardless of the presence or not of a history of diabetes (hazard ratio, 2.20 [95% CI, 1.21-4.03]; P =0.010). Conclusions We firstly showed FBG ≥7.0 mmol/L predicted worse outcome in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 independent of diabetes history. Our findings indicated screening FBG level is an effective method to evaluate the prognosis of patients with COVID-19.