Analysis of Clinical Parameters, Drug Consumption and Use of Health Resources in a Southern European Population with Diabetes That Did Not Contract COVID-19: A Longitudinal Big Data Study

Ana Lear-Claveras; Bárbara Oliván-Blázquez; Ana Clavería; Sabela Couso-Viana; Rosa Magallón Botaya

doi:10.3390/ijerph19116835

Analysis of Clinical Parameters, Drug Consumption and Use of Health Resources in a Southern European Population with Diabetes That Did Not Contract COVID-19: A Longitudinal Big Data Study

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 2;19(11):6835. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19116835.

Authors

Ana Lear-Claveras¹, Bárbara Oliván-Blázquez^{1

2

3}, Ana Clavería^{3

4

5}, Sabela Couso-Viana⁴, Rosa Magallón Botaya^{1

3

6}

Affiliations

¹ Aragonese Research Group in Primary Care (Grupo Aragonés de Investigación en Atención Primaria/GAIAP), Aragon Health Research Institute, 50015 Zaragoza, Spain.
² Department of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
³ Network for Research on Chronicity, Primary Care, and Health Promotion (RICAPPS), 08007 Barcelona, Spain.
⁴ I-Saúde Group, South Galicia Health Research Institute, 36201 Vigo, Spain.
⁵ Vigo Health Area, SERGAS, 36201 Vigo, Spain.
⁶ Department of Medicine, Psychiatry and Dermatology, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.

Abstract

The lockdown measures imposed to stop the spread of the virus have affected the general population, but particularly people with chronic diseases such as diabetes. An observational real world data pre-post study of 86,615 individuals over the age of 16, having a medical history in the Aragon (Spain) Health Service and diagnosed with diabetes, without COVID-19 infection was undertaken. Clinical, pharmacological and health resource use variables were collected during the six months prior to the onset of the lockdown and during the six months after the lockdown ended. The Student's t-test was used to analyse differences in means. Our study does not show clinically relevant changes six months following the end of the strict lockdown. The consumption, by these patients, of hypoglycaemic drugs and the use of health resources continue at below pre-pandemic levels, six months later. The interruption in care for these patients and the lifestyle change resulting from the pandemic do not appear to have had a significant impact on the health of the diabetic population.

Keywords: COVID-19; diabetes; health resources; lifestyle; lockdown.

Publication types

Observational Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Big Data
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Communicable Disease Control
Diabetes Mellitus* / epidemiology
Health Resources
Humans

Grants and funding

This study has been funded by the Department for Science, Universities and the Knowledge Society of the Government of Aragon (Spain), through the DGACOVID-01 project. The funding source has not had a direct role in protocol design, data collection, analysis or data interpretation.