Have you ever wondered why your primary care physician keeps an eye on your blood glucose levels when running laboratory tests? Add to that, they want “fasting” levels which means no coffee before the test, right?! In a retrospective study by S. Wang and colleagues from 2 hospitals in Wuhan, China, FBG ≥ 7 mmol/L at admission independently predicted 28-day mortality in patients with COVID-19 without previous diagnoses of diabetes.

The investigation suggests that all patients with COVID-19, even persons without pre-existing diabetes, should have glycemic testing and control, given the fact that most patients with COVID-19 are prone to glucose metabolic disorders. Compared with patients with normal glucose (< 6.1 mmol/L, 28-day mortality was twice as high (HR = 2.06) for persons with an FBG of 6.1 to 6.9 mmol/L and > 3-fold higher for ≥7 mmol/L (HR = 3.54).

The high percentages of patients with hyperglycemia suggest that the sample included patients with undiagnosed diabetes as well as patients without diabetes but with an acute disorder of blood glucose, such as stress hyperglycemia.

The research is definitely interesting and worth reading, but remember, it is important to take care of yourself and see your primary care physician per their recommendations. Life is short, let’s not make it shorter by neglecting our health!