With the number of Covid-19 cases rising everyday and creating a burden on all the state healthcare systems, the scientists and doctors across the world are analysing every possible strain to not just avoid the spread but also more people dying of the virus.  

Researchers in China have found that Covid-19 patients with abnormally high blood sugar are at an increased risk of severe complications and more than twice as likely to face death. 

This is the first time that the scientists have been able to confirm that patients with hyperglycemia, but not diagnosed with diabetes, are at higher risk of death from Covid.

This study shows that elevated Fasting Blood Glucose at admission is independently associated with increased 28-day mortality and percentages of in-hospital complications in Covid-19 patients without a previous diagnosis of diabetes.  

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The researchers examined death rates for 605 Covid patients at two hospitals in Wuhan, China. The Chinese team looked at fasting blood glucose levels at admission from January 24, 2020 to February 10, 2020. 

The findings, published in the journal Diabetologia, the research team examined the association between FBG on admission and the 28-day mortality of Covid-19 patients without previously diagnosed diabetes.  

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The results showed that patients in the highest FBG group were 2.3 times more likely to die than those in the lowest, a statistically significant result. Those in the middle (pre-diabetic) FBG group were 71 per cent more likely to die than those in the lowest group, although this result only had borderline statistical significance. 

The data also showed that men were 75 per cent more likely to die than women and patients with higher CRB65 scores (and thus worse pneumonia) were also at higher risk of death.  

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When looking at FBG and CRB-65 scores together the patients in the highest FBG group had an increased risk of death compared to the lowest. 

The CRB-65 score is an effective measure for assessing the severity of pneumonia and is based on four indicators: level of confusion, respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure or diastolic blood pressure, and age. 

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The risk of complications was also found to be four times higher in the highest FBG group compared to the lowest, and 2.6 times higher in the middle (pre-diabetic) group compared to the lowest. 

The authors of the Chinese study suggested that blood clotting, the weakening of blood vessel linings, and cytokine storm syndrome, an overreaction of the immune system could all play a role. 

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The authors of the report urged hospitals to test all Covid patients for glucose levels, as opposed to only those known to have diabetes.