Here’s One More Dire Reason to Be Aware of Fasting Blood Glucose in COVID-19

We told you recently about a pair of studies out of China that suggested elevated fasting blood glucose could be a risk factor for severe disease in patients with COVID-19. Now a third study using the same data pool paints an even darker picture, with the authors concluding that a fasting blood glucose level ≥7.0 mmol/L in patients without a previous diagnosis of diabetes is an independent predictor for higher 28-day mortality. The odds ratio for in-hospital complications in patients with fasting blood glucose ≥6.1 mmol/L was 3.99, compared with 2.61 for patients with fasting blood glucose <6. This retrospective analysis included 605 patients diagnosed with COVID-19; 114 of them died while hospitalized. Use this information to emphasize the increased importance of maintaining healthy blood glucose levels during the pandemic, but also to incentivize patients with diabetes to keep using protective measures against COVID-19 infection as rules continue to be relaxed (while cases increase) in some parts of the country.