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A new study has found that people with diabetes and eye disease have a five-fold increased risk of requiring ventilation when hospitalised due to coronavirus infection.
The study, published in the journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice , identified for the first time the risk associated with diabetic retinopathy and Covid-19.
Retinopathy is any damage to the retina of the eyes, which may cause vision impairment. Diabetic retinopathy is a diabetes complication that affects the eyes.
Study author Antonella Corcillo from King’s College London in the UK said: “This is the first time that retinopathy has been linked to severe Covid-19 in people with diabetes.”
“Retinopathy is a marker of damage to the blood vessels and our results suggest that such pre-existing damage to blood vessels may result in a more severe Covid-19 infection requiring intensive care treatment,” Corcillo added.
Methodology
For the study, the researchers analysed 187 people with diabetes (179 with type 2 diabetes and eight with type 1 diabetes) hospitalised with Covid-19. Diabetic retinopathy was reported in 67 (36 per cent) of patients, the majority with background retinopathy.
Of the 187 patients hospitalised with severe Covid-19, 26 per cent were intubated and 45 per cent of these patients had retinopathy.
Findings
According to the researchers, there is a growing body of evidence that there is significant damage to the blood vessels in the lung and other organs in patients hospitalised with severe Covid-19.
They further noted that people with diabetes are at high risk of vascular complications affecting the large and small blood vessels.
“We hypothesize that the presence of diabetes-related vascular disease such as retinopathy may result in greater vulnerability and susceptibility to respiratory failure in severe Covid-19,” study author Janaka Karalliedde.
The researchers concluded that further studies are required to explore the link between markers and manifestations of diabetic vascular disease such as retinopathy and severe Covid-19.
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