THURSDAY, June 11, 2026 (NewsDay News) — Infections are a major health risk for people with diabetes, according to a study published online June 6.Diabetes which coincides with the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association, which was held from June 5 to 8 in New Orleans.
Julia A. Critchley, D.Phil., of the University of London, and colleagues used data from UK primary care, hospitalization and mortality to examine the risk of infection in more than 800,000 people with diabetes or prediabetes compared with age- and ethnicity-matched controls of more than 1 million people. Participants were evaluated over a five-year period (2015 to 2019).
The researchers found that compared to people without diabetes, the risk of infection was consistently higher in all forms of diabetes. The highest and lowest risk was observed in type 1 diabetes and pre-diabetes. Relative risks were similar among different ethnicities; In South Asia, the population burden of diabetes-related infections was high. Strong independent associations with risk of infection were observed for mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and change in HbA1c per visit, particularly for hospital-acquired infections. High HbA1c levels showed the strongest association with infection risk among patients with type 1 diabetes, while variability contributed to the excess burden of infections for type 2 diabetes. Infection-related mortality was significant, making it the third leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease and cancer in type 2 diabetes.
Critchley said in a statement, “the increased risk of infection in diabetes should be given more attention in the guidance of the UK, Europe and the US”. “By updating the guidelines on a global scale, it will increase the awareness of healthcare workers to help with earlier recognition and prompt intervention, which will help reduce preventable admissions and hospital deaths.”
One author disclosed his affiliation with the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
