Patients with diabetes are more vulnerable to coronavirus: experts

Medical experts from Ruijin Hospital shared their experiences on coronavirus prevention and control for diabetes patients with international counterparts in 15 countries and regions on Saturday afternoon.

People with diabetes are more vulnerable to coronavirus and treatment for coronavirus patients with diabetes is more difficult, doctors said in the online live broadcast on Facebook and Twitter. 

"About 10 percent of coronavirus patients have diabetes in China and it is 22.2 percent among those seriously sick with coronavirus. Among the deaths, as high as 70 percent have diabetes," said Dr Wang Weiqing, director of Ruijn Hospital's endocrinology department. "The high blood sugar is like a boost of virus in the body. So the condition of people with diabetes is more likely to deteriorate than non-diabetics."

"Only 30 percent of Chinese have healthy blood sugar, which means over two-thirds of the population are pre-diabetics or diabetics. People with diabetes have 1.5 times higher possibility of lung infection, so diabetics are considered as high risky population for coronavirus," she said.

Wang and her colleagues shared how frontline doctors in China treated coronavirus patients with diabetes and explained how Chinese prevent and control the virus.

"We have worked out a guidance for general physicians to help diabetes patients to prevent and control coronavirus, as diabetics are usually cared by GP in the Western countries," she added.