The concerns and fears of being positive for COVID-19 continue over a year later in the United States, and fortunately, access to vaccines has increased for more people and age groups.
Still, there remain some who are weary and not trusting of the available vaccines, and this is especially the case in the black community, but the black community also faces higher rates of diabetes. Diabetes and COVID is not a good combination, especially for those of us with advanced diabetes.
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood sugar, or blood glucose, is too high. Blood sugar plays an important part in the body’s function as it is your body’s main source of energy. Insulin is the hormone that is made by the pancreas.
Those with type 2 diabetes struggle to produce the insulin needed to rid the blood of too much glucose, which can lead to other health problems, including heart disease, eye problems, kidney disease, and nerve damage.
For those with type 1 diabetes, this diagnosis represents a more severe or progressive form of diabetes.
While type 2 diabetics may take oral medications, such as metformin, for instance, to help control their blood sugar, type 1 diabetics must take insulin injections to serve as a replacement to help control their blood sugar.
Risk factors for black people with diabetes include fat around the abdomen and weight, which are considered the primary reasons that the rates of diabetes are higher for black Americans over white Americans.
Having diabetes doesn’t necessarily increase death probability for those with COVID, according to a recent study.
But the severity of diabetes, such as having type 1 diabetes, does increase the risk of higher death rates.
Type 2 diabetes is considered an underlying condition that can make COVID harder to fight, but with type 1 diabetes, the fight can be even harder. COVID is never a good diagnosis for anyone, but health risks are particularly high in those with advanced diabetes that is poorly controlled.
Observing 22 studies, which included a total of nearly 18,000 people, the recent study found that death rates from COVID among individuals with diabetes were similar to those among individuals without diabetes, but those with more severe cases of diabetes had the worse outcomes.
This is particularly true with those individuals using insulin. The increased risks are also seen in males, older individuals, and individuals with other chronic health issues.
According to the study, patients taking insulin to control their diabetes were 75% more likely to die from COVID than non-insulin users. Patients treating their diabetes with metformin were 50% less likely to die from COVID than those not using metformin.
Men with diabetes and COVID were 28% more likely to die than women. Individuals with diabetes, age 65 and older, were more than three times more likely to die than younger individuals with diabetes.
Regardless of what type of other health issues that one may have in addition to having COVID, the key is to work on a healthier lifestyle to control your conditions. With COVID continuing to make its presence known, protecting yourself, and those you surround yourself with, should also be high on your priority list.
Consider the vaccinations and how, overall, there are many who have gotten vaccinated, with the positive instances outweighing the negative instances.
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