Covid kills 1 in 10 diabetics in 7 days

TEN per cent of Covid-19 patients with diabetes die within just a week of being admitted to hospital, a report reveals.

Researchers also found that by day seven, one in five diabetic patients would be intubated and mechanically ventilated. The majority of the 1,317 patients analysed had Type 2 diabetes while only three per cent had Type 1 diabetes. The average age of all patients was 70 years and 65 per cent were men.

Professor Bertrand Cariou, of the University of Nantes, said: “Elderly populations with long-term diabetes... were particularly at risk of early death, and might require specific management to avoid infection with the virus.”