Diabetes is associated with higher mortality and severity in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

As a novel cause of pneumonia, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly progressed worldwide. Previous studies have indicated COVID-19 patients with diabetes show higher mortality rates and more severe COVID-19 infection with an increased requirement for intensive care and hospital length of stay (LOS) compared to non-diabetic patients. The present study aimed to investigate the association of diabetes and COVID-19 outcome with severity of disease in hospitalized patients. The present case-control study included 268 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in Ayatollah Khoyi Hospital, Khoy, Iran. Diabetes was identified based on medical history and/or criteria of published documents. Out of 268 patients (median age of 59 years; 53.4 % male), 127 patients had diabetes (47 %). Diabetic patients had remarkably higher mortality rates (adjusted odds ratio, aOR: 3.36; confidence interval, CI: 1.17-9.66), requirement for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) (aOR: 4.59; CI: 1.38-15.25), and LOS (aOR: 1.13; CI: 1.06-1.24) compared to patients without diabetes. Inflammatory biomarkers including C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were increased in patients with diabetes compared to non-diabetic patients (P < 0.05 for all the comparisons). In hospitalized patients with COVID-19, diabetes was correlated with increased disease severity and mortality.

Relationship between Serum Levels of Testosterone and the Severity of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

BACKGROUND: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the relationship between the levels of serum testosterone and the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using GOLD criteria, 140 male patients with COPD were categorized into mild, moderate, severe and very severe COPD groups of 35 each. Then, serum levels of testosterone, prolactin and LH of patients were compared and the data were analyzed using SPSS version 18 software. RESULTS: Average age of patients was 67.4±10.1 years (range 41 to 90 years). The prevalence of the secondary hypogonadism was 58.6%. It was shown that the level of serum testosterone was directly correlated with the severity of COPD (P= 0.04). CONCLUSION: This study found that the prevalence of the secondary hypogonadism in COPD patients was high. The forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) was correlated with the level of serum testosterone. Further investigations are required to better evaluate the pathology and treatment of secondary hypogonadism in COPD patients.