Risk of infection in diabetes before and during COVID-19: a review

The risk of almost all types of infection is increased both in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. Notably, infections are one of the most important cause of hospitalization and death in diabetes and the risk is increased in patients with poor glycemic control. SARS-CoV2 pandemic stressed this association, since diabetic patients showed a particularly high risk of worse outcomes. This review analyzes the association of diabetes and different infections, underlining how the risk of worse outcomes was present both before and during SARS-CoV2 pandemic. KEY WORDS COVID-19; infection; diabetes; immunology; susceptibility.