Diabetes is associated with increased odds of contracting COVID-19 and with increased COVID-19 mortality, whereas metformin treatment before diagnosis of COVID-19 is associated with reduced odds of related mortality, according to a study published in Frontiers in Endocrinology. Researchers conducted a retrospective health record data analysis of 25,326 individuals tested for COVID-19 between February 25 and June 22, 2020. The associations between mortality in COVID-19-positive individuals and patient characteristics and comorbidities were examined. The researchers found that Blacks/African Americans and those with obesity, hypertension, and diabetes had disproportionately higher odds of contracting COVID-19 (odds ratios [ORs], 2.6, 1.93, 2.46, and 2.11, respectively). There was also an association for diabetes with increased mortality (OR, 3.62), which emerged as an independent risk factor even after adjustment for age, race, sex, obesity, and hypertension. For individuals with diabetes and COVID-19, metformin treatment prior to COVID-19 diagnosis was independently associated with reduced mortality (OR, 0.33).
