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Horm Metab Res 2021; 53(05): 301-310
DOI: 10.1055/a-1468-4535
Endocrine Care

COVID-19, Diabetes, and Associated Health Outcomes in China: Results from a Nationwide Survey of 10 545 Adults

Zumin Shi  ‡
1   Human Nutrition Department, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
,
Alice Yan‡
2   Center for Advancing Population Science, Division of General Internal Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
,
Paul Zimmet
3   Department of Diabetes, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
,
Xiaoming Sun
4   Global Health Institute, School of Public Health, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi’an, China
,
Nayla Cristina do Vale Moreira
5   Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará (FAMED-UFC), Brazil
,
Lawrence J. Cheskin
6   Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
,
Liming Wang
7   National Center for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
,
Weidong Qu
8   Centers for Water and Health, Key Laboratory of the Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education, Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
,
Hong Yan
4   Global Health Institute, School of Public Health, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi’an, China
,
Akhtar Hussain
5   Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará (FAMED-UFC), Brazil
9   Faculty of Health Sciences, Nord University, Bodø, Norway
10   International Diabetes Federation, Brussels, Belgium
,
Youfa Wang
4   Global Health Institute, School of Public Health, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi’an, China
› Author Affiliations Funding Information The project is supported in part by research grants from the (Grant number: 16-262), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant Number: 2017YFC0907200 & 2017YFC0907201), the University Alliance of the Silk Road (Grant number: 2020LMZX002), and Xi’an Jiaotong University Global Health Institute.
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Abstract

This study examined the associations between diabetes and self-reported/familial COVID-19 infection and investigated health-related outcomes among those with diabetes during China’s nationwide quarantine. The 2020 China COVID-19 Survey was administered anonymously via social media (WeChat). It was completed by 10 545 adults in all of mainland China’s 31 provinces. The survey consisted of 74 items covering sociodemographic characteristics, preventive measures for COVID-19, lifestyle behaviors, and health-related outcomes during the period of quarantine. Regression models examined associations among study variables. Diabetes was associated with a six-fold increased risk of reporting COVID-19 infection among respondents or their family members. Among people with diabetes, individuals who rarely wore masks had double the risk of suspected COVID-19 infection compared with those who always wore masks, with an inverse J-shaped relationship between face mask wearing and suspected COVID-19 infection. People with diabetes tended to have both poor knowledge of COVID-19 and poor compliance with preventive measures, despite perceiving a high risk of personal infection (40.0% among respondents reporting diabetes and 8.0% without diabetes). Only 54–55% of these respondents claimed to consistently practice preventive measures, including wearing face masks. Almost 60% of those with diabetes experienced food or medication shortages during the quarantine period, which was much higher than those without diabetes. Importantly, respondents who experienced medication shortages reported a 63% higher COVID-19 infection rate. Diabetes was associated with an increased risk of self-reported personal and family member COVID-19 infection, which is mitigated by consistent use of face masks.

Key words

COVID-19 - pandemic diabetes - non-communicable diseases - health outcomes - China

Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 09 October 2020

Accepted after revision: 22 March 2021

Article published online:
07 May 2021

© 2021. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
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