Covid-19 infection is associated with diabetes mellitus in the MASHAD cohort study

Introduction: Previous studies have suggested that diabetes mellitus and obesity are associated with an increased risk of severe complications with COVID. We aimed to investigate whether individuals with obesity and diabetes mellitus are more likely to be infected with COVID19. Methods: The information related to COVID-19 was extracted from the Sina Health system information of Mashhad Health Deputy among participants in Mashhad cohort study (n=9704 people). Information regarding the cardiac risk factors of the individuals was previously recorded during the recruitment phase of the Mashhad cohort study. The relationship between COVID infection and several CVD risk factors was investigated. Results: The results showed that obesity (P= 0.001) and diabetes mellitus (DM), (P= 0.01) were positively related to COVID-19. Furthermore, DM augmented the risk of COVID-19 by 1.79 folds (P-value= 0.004; OR: 1.79; CI:1.21-2.67). Conclusions: The incidence of COVID-19 until 2020.07.19 was 2.36% in Mashhad Study Cohort population. Moreover, DM has increased the risk of COVID-19 by 1.79 folds in the population.