Effect of COVID 19 Lockdown on glycemic parameters in people with type 2 diabetes

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the newly discovered SARS-COV-2. Older people and people with pre-existing medical conditions, such as diabetes and obesity, appear to have the worst outcomes with the COVID-19 virus. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries enforced stringent lockdowns to prevent the spread of the disease. India had a lockdown of 68 days between 21^st March and 31^st May 2020. In this background, we undertook this study to assess the effect of the lockdown on the glycemic status and weight of people with diabetes, which was indirectly an opportunity to assess the self-care practices of people with diabetes.

The subjects included in the study were people with type 2 diabetes identified from electronic medical records who had attended the Jai Clinic and Diabetes Care Centre in Lucknow and were tested for HbA1c between 20^th Feb 2020 and 20^th March 2020. A total of 313 people with diabetes were identified meeting the inclusion criteria, out of which 171 were females and 142 were males. They were again tested for HbA1c between 1^st June 2020 and 1^st July 2020 after lockdown. Their pre- and post-lockdown HbA1c and weight were analyzed statistically.

HbA1c was increased in 195 patients, which was statistically significant. A total of 151 patients had an increase in weight compared to their prelockdown weights, but it was not statistically significant. Furthermore, an increase in weight correlated with an increase in HbA1c and a decrease in weight correlated with a decrease in HbA1c. Both were statistically significant.

Optimum diabetes control and adherence to good self-care practices is the need of hour, and contingency plans for medicines and diabetes care supplies are of utmost importance in these testing times.