RESUMO
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has caused an important social and health impact worldwide and the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has elicited devastating economy problems. The pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is a complex mechanism and is considered to be the result of a challenging interaction, in which host and virus immune responses are the key elements. In this process, several inflammatory pathways are involved, and their initiation can have multiple consequences with a considerable impact on evolution, such as hyperinflammation and cytokine storm, thereby promoting activation of the coagulation system and fibrinolytic activity suppression. It is commonly recognized that COVID-19 severity involves multiple factors, including diabetes which increases the risk of developing different complications. This could be as a result of the low-grade inflammation as well as the innate and adaptive immune response dysfunction that is observed in patients with diabetes mellitus. In patients with diabetes, multiple metabolic disturbances which have a major impact in disturbing the balance between coagulation and fibrinolysis were discovered, thus the risk for thrombotic events is increased. Diabetes has been recognized as an important severity prognosis factor in COVID-19 cases and considering there is a significant association between diabetes and prothrombotic status, it could be responsible for the increased risk of thrombotic events with a worse prognosis.
RESUMO
Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with increased mortality and morbidity, including cardiovascular diseases and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The aim of this study was to assess the associations between cardiovascular risk, chronic diabetes complications and the risk of OSA in adult patients with T2DM. Methods: The study included 529 patients with T2DM in whom moderate-to-severe OSA risk was assessed using the STOP-Bang questionnaire, dividing the subjects into two groups: group 1: STOP-Bang score <5, and group 2: STOP-Bang score ≥5, respectively. In all the subjects, cardiovascular risk was assessed using the UKPDS risk engine. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 26.0, the results being statistically significant if p value was <0.05. Results: 59% of the subjects scored ≥5 on the STOP-Bang questionnaire. We recorded statistically significant differences between the two groups regarding diabetes duration, HbA1c, HOMA-IR, albuminuria, as well as cardiovascular risk at 10 years for both coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke (p < 0.05). Furthermore, through logistic regression, adjusting for confounding factors, we demonstrated that the STOP-Bang score ≥ 5 is a risk factor for 10-year fatal and nonfatal CHD risk. Conclusions: It is extremely important to screen and diagnose OSA in patients with T2DM, in order to improve the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events in these patients.
