COVID-19 Severity in a Geographically Diverse, U.S.-based, Ambulatory Population with Type 2 Diabetes on a Medically Supervised Ketogenic Diet

Volk, Brittanie M.; Roberts, Caroline Gp Vantieghem Michelle McKenzie Amy L.; George, Patricia Athinarayanan Shaminie J.; Adams, Rebecca N.; Phinney, Stephen Ratner Robert E.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity are risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection and death. A medically supervised ketogenic diet (MSKD) can quickly reduce weight and glycemia, so we assessed the incidence of reported COVID-19, its severity, and factors associated with hospitalization in our geographically diverse, US-based, ambulatory population following initiation of a MSKD for T2D. Data were obtained from medical records and from surveys sent to T2D patients who self-reported COVID-19 diagnosis;47.8% (294/614) responses and one known COVID-related death yielded a sample of 295 (50% male, 54±9 years, across 41 US states). We observed low reported rates of hospitalization (10.9%), ventilation (2.0%), and death (0.3%) relative to national reports. Weight and BMI did not differ by hospitalization status (Table 1), yet greater percent weight loss following initiation of MSKD was associated with reduced hospitalization after accounting for age, baseline weight, and days on MSKD (OR = 1.08, P = 0.03). Nutritional therapies, such as MSKD, that elicit rapid, significant weight loss may favorably impact hospitalization for and COVID-19 severity in patients with T2D.