Stress hyperglycemia is associated with disease severity in COVID-19

Abstract

showed that patients with COVID-19 combined with type 2 diabetes have more severe disease, in which glycaemia, lymphopaenia, and the inflammatory response play an important role [6]. Stress hyperglycaemia is defined as temporary elevation of blood glucose due to disturbance of substance and energy metabolism in stressful conditions such as major trauma, sepsis, or acute myocardial infarction [7]. Hyperglycaemia caused by coronavirus infection is associated with coronavirus binding to ACE2 receptors in islet cells, resulting in direct and indirect effects on islet cells [8]. However, there are few reports on whether there is an association between stress hyperglycaemia and COVID-19. Several previous studies have suggested that stress hyperglycaemia ratios, with adjustment factors for chronic hyperglycaemic states, may be more appropriate biomarkers for predicting poorer outcomes in certain critical illnesses with higher risk [9][10][11]. Moreover, previous