No increased risk of catching COVID-19 for diabetics ...

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Eddy Edson

Eddy Edson

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Type 2
in large scale analysis of data from the Oxford Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research and Surveillance Centre primary care network just released.


Note that the study doesn't say anything about risk of bad outcomes after catching it.

The only chronic condition identified as significantly increasing the risk of catching the virus was CKD. Apart from that: age, being male, urban setting, obesity, African/Asian ethnicity, deprivation.

Not enough info to say if the ethnicity risk is linked to eg prevalence of higher-risk occupations or genetics or whatever, but according to the analysis, it's independent of chronic conditions more prevalent in this population.

Most surprising: being a current smoker reduces the risk. This is consistent with other early studies of COVID-19. Authors suggest maybe because smokers cough more they have been disproportionately represented in the tested population; or maybe nicotine does something to the virus in the nasal regions which means testing fails even if you have COVID-19. But they say these seem to be pretty weak suggestions in the context of the data.

Also surprising: lower risk with larger households. Authors speculate that maybe single people living in small dwellings go out more?
 
"No increased risk of catching COVID-19 for diabetics .."

providing you don't have any other underlying health conditions and providing your diabetes is under control
 
Jodee said:
"No increased risk of catching COVID-19 for diabetics .."

providing you don't have any other underlying health conditions and providing your diabetes is under control
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I don’t think that has any effect on your propensity to catch it in the first place, just on the outcome if you do get it.
 
Robin said:
I don’t think that has any effect on your propensity to catch it in the first place, just on the outcome if you do get it.
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Also less likely of catching it if shielding, isolating, keeping safe distance and washing hands :D 😉
 
Robin said:
I don’t think that has any effect on your propensity to catch it in the first place, just on the outcome if you do get it.
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Yep. This is the first study I've seen with a reasonable analysis concluding that diabetes isn't an indpendent risk factor. There's been a lot of commentary guessing that it's the case, but it's good to see the guesses confirmed.
 
When there is mention of risk factors, that means the risk of getting more severe forms of the disease. It has nothing to do with catching the disease, so the title of this thread is a nonsense.

If this study shows that diabetes is not of itself a risk of a worse outcome, then so be it. But it doesn't reduce or affect your chances of catching Covid-19.
 
mikeyB said:
When there is mention of risk factors, that means the risk of getting more severe forms of the disease. It has nothing to do with catching the disease, so the title of this thread is a nonsense.

If this study shows that diabetes is not of itself a risk of a worse outcome, then so be it. But it doesn't reduce or affect your chances of catching Covid-19.
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No, it refers to risk factors for testing positive for COVID-19. That's perfectly legitimate. It doesn't speak to outcomes, and despite people assuming that diabetes doesn't increase the risk of testing positive, generally in science I believe it's thought to be a good thing to test assumptions rather than just rolling with them :sniff:
 
But that's just sophistry. Testing positive for Covid 19 means you've caught the disease. No disease or condition makes that any more likely, apart from sheer idiocy, which is how Boris got it.
 
mikeyB said:
But that's just sophistry. Testing positive for Covid 19 means you've caught the disease. No disease or condition makes that any more likely, apart from sheer idiocy, which is how Boris got it.
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Apart from Boris-level buffoonery, according to this study, obesity and CKD increase likelihood of getting it. The authors say they dunno why, or using more words:

Both chronic kidney disease and obesity have been associated with increased risk of other respiratory infections.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors are recommended treatments for chronic kidney disease and have been postulated to impact SARS-CoV-2 host-cell interactions. However observational evidence does not support this effect,
and further analyses to investigate the relationship between medications, chronic illnesses, and SARS-CoV-2 positivity [are needed].
 
My point wasn’t about outcomes. It’s simply that you can’t become Covid positive without first catching the disease, which is entirely dependent on external factors.
 
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