The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in diabetes and dyslipidemia management in a Spanish region: a retrospective study of the Aragon population

Abstract

IntroductionPrevious research has indicated that the COVID-19 outbreak had a negative impact on the diagnosis and management of cardiometabolic diseases. Our aim was to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the Aragon region of Spain.MethodsWe conducted an observational retrospective study, which included data from all patients diagnosed with active T2D or dyslipidemia in Aragon during 2019–2021. Data was collected from the BIGAN platform, a big database that includes all healthcare data from the Aragon population. Clinical, biochemical, and pharmacological prescription information was obtained for each patient and for each year.ResultsOut of the total population of 1,330,000 in the Aragon region, 90,000 subjects were diagnosed with T2D each year, resulting in a prevalence of approximately 7%. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a decrease in the prevalence of this disease and a lower incidence during the year 2020. In addition, patients with T2D experienced a deterioration of their glucose profile, which led to an increase in the number of patients requiring pharmacological therapy. The prevalence of dyslipidemia was approximately 23.5% in both 2019 and 2020 and increased to 24.5% in 2021. Despite the worsening of the anthropometric profile, the lipid profile improved significantly throughout 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019. Moreover, the number of active pharmacological prescriptions increased significantly in 2021.DiscussionOur findings suggest that the overload of the health system caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an underdiagnosis of T2D. Moreover, patients with T2D experienced a worsening of their glycemic profile, an increase in their pharmacological requirements, and lower performance of their analytical determinations. Dyslipidemic subjects improved their lipid profile although the value of lipid profile determination decreased between 2020 and 2021.

Relationship Between Glycosylated Haemoglobin and Dyslipidaemia in Individuals Exposed to COVID-19: A Cross Sectional Study in North Indian Population

“…This contradicts the study of Rocio Mateo-Gallego, that revealed overload of the health system caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an under diagnosis of T2D that might have increased hyperglycermia including undiagnosed T2D. (9) However, our present study revealed that increased HbA1c is associated with low levels of HDL in Diabetic patients in both males and females. A strong correlation was observed between glycated hemoglobin and Cholesterol and HDL levels in diabetic females.…”

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, the occurrence of high blood sugar decreases, but people dealing with type 2 diabetes face worsening blood sugar levels. This requires an increase in the use of medications to manage the situation (9) . Dyslipidemia maintains its grip, hovering at 23.5 percent prevalence in 2019 and 2020, inching upwards to 24.5 percent in 2021 (9) .…”

“…This requires an increase in the use of medications to manage the situation (9) . Dyslipidemia maintains its grip, hovering at 23.5 percent prevalence in 2019 and 2020, inching upwards to 24.5 percent in 2021 (9) . Meanwhile, an investigation in South India charts a different trajectory, as the lockdown's influence on overall glycemic control remains marginal (10) .…”