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Management of patients with diabetes and obesity in the COVID-19 era: Experiences and learnings from South and East Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy. Electronic address: francesco.giorgino@uniba.it. Department of Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolism, Internal Medicine, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa. Diabetology and Internal Medicine Department, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, School of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. Diabetic Foot Department, Federal State Budgetary Institution, National Medical Research Center of Endocrinology, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russia. Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Faculty of Medicine University of Belgrade, Clinic for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Dr Subotica 8, Belgrade 11000, Serbia. Metabolic Disease Research Laboratory, University of Constantine 3, El Khroub, Algeria. Vuk Vrhovac University Clinic for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Merkur University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia; School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia; School of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia. University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Carol Davila", Bucharest, Romania. Hadassah Hebrew University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.

Diabetes research and clinical practice. 2021;:108617
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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect on healthcare during 2020. Current evidence suggests that, while individuals with diabetes and obesity are no more prone to SARS-CoV-2 infection than those without, the risk of hospitalisation if someone has diabetes or obesity and then contracts COVID-19 is three times higher - and 4.5 times higher if they have diabetes and obesity. We assembled a panel of experts from South and East Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to discuss the challenges to management of diabetes and obesity during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. The experience and learnings of this panel cover a heterogeneous patient population, wide range of clinical settings, healthcare organisations, disease management strategies, and social factors. We discuss the importance of timely and effective disease management via telemedicine, providing reassurance and guidance for patients unable or unwilling to visit healthcare settings at this time. We address the use of novel therapies and their role in managing diabetes and obesity during the pandemic, as well as the importance of controlling hypoglycaemia and preventing cardiovascular complications, particularly in vulnerable people. Finally, we consider post-COVID-19 management of diabetes and obesity, and how these learnings and experiences should impact upon future clinical guidelines.

Methodological quality

Publication Type : Review

Metadata

MeSH terms : Obesity ; Telemedicine