The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated disruptions in health-care provision on clinical outcomes in people with diabetes: a systematic review.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered disruptions to health care and lifestyles that could conceivably impact diabetes management. We set out to identify the impact of disruptions caused by COVID-19 on clinical outcomes in people with diabetes. We performed a systematic review of the available literature in the MEDLINE and OVID databases from Jan 1, 2020, to June 7, 2023, and included 138 studies (n>1 000 000 people). All but five studies were judged to be at some risk of bias. All studies compared prepandemic with pandemic periods. All-cause mortality (six studies) and diabetes-related mortality (13 studies) showed consistent increases, and most studies indicated increases in sight loss (six studies). In adult and mixed samples, data generally suggested no difference in diabetic ketoacidosis frequency or severity, whereas in children and adolescents most studies showed increases with some due to new-onset diabetes (69 studies). Data suggested decreases in hospital admissions in adults but increases in diabetes-related admissions to paediatric intensive care units (35 studies). Data were equivocal on diabetic foot ulcer presentations (nine studies), emergency department admissions (nine studies), and overall amputation rates (20 studies). No studies investigated renal failure. Where reported, the impact was most pronounced for females, younger people, and racial and ethnic minority groups. Further studies are needed to investigate the longer-term impact of the pandemic and the on potential differential impacts, which risk further exacerbating existing inequalities within people with diabetes.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on glycaemic control in people with diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM: To identify, appraise and synthesize the available evidence on the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and lockdown (LD) on glycaemic control in people with diabetes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched multiple databases up to 2 February 2021 for studies reporting HbA1c, time in range (TIR), average or fasting glucose, severe hypoglycaemia and diabetic ketoacidosis. Data were pooled using random effects meta-analysis and are presented as mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). This review was preregistered on PROSPERO (CRD42020179319). RESULTS: We include 59 studies; 44 (n = 15 464) were included in quantitative syntheses and 15 were narratively synthesized. Pooled data were grouped by diabetes type. Results from 28 studies (n = 5048 type 1 diabetes [T1D] and combined diabetes participants) showed that TIR increased during LD compared with before LD (MD 2.74%, 95% CI 1.80% to 3.69%). Data from 10 studies (n = 1294 T1D participants) showed that TIR increased after LD compared with before LD (MD 5.14%, 95% CI 3.12% to 7.16%). Pooled results from 12 studies (n = 4810 T1D and type 2 diabetes participants) resulted in average glucose decreasing after LD compared with before LD (MD -6.86 mg/dl, 95% CI -8.54 to -5.18). Results for other outcomes, including HbA1c, were not statistically significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with small improvements across multiple outcomes of glycaemic control, although there was insufficient evidence to suggest that this led to changes in HbA1c. Most evidence came from people with access to diabetes technologies in high-income countries; more research is needed in less advantaged populations.