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10-18-2021 | COVID-19 | News

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Glycemic control may affect COVID-19 vaccination effectiveness in type 2 diabetes

Author: Eleanor McDermid

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medwireNews: Response to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 may be impaired in people with type 2 diabetes and poor glycemic control, but potentially improved if glucose levels are controlled, say researchers.

Assessment of study participants’ neutralizing antibodies at 21 days after the second dose of their vaccine revealed that the 277 without diabetes had approximately 70% neutralization, and the 109 people with diabetes and good glycemic control had around 60% neutralization, which was a nonsignificant difference.

But neutralization was significantly lower, at approximately 40%, in the 92 people with type 2 diabetes and poor glycemic control, defined as glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) higher than 7.0% (53 mmol/mol). The same pattern was observed for T cell-mediated cytokine responses.

Although this pattern persisted at 52 days after vaccination, it differed according to post-vaccination glycemic control. Specifically, 57 people with poor control at baseline improved to an average HbA1c of 6.6% (49 mmol/mol), and also achieved improved neutralization of approximately 50%, whereas the response remained impaired in those with persistently poor glycemic control.

“The present study allows cautious optimism regarding adequate immunization in individuals with diabetes after COVID-19 vaccines, suggesting that achievement of tight glycaemic control during the vaccination period normalizes natural protection against SARS-CoV-2,” say Raffaele Marfella (University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli,” Naples, Italy) and co-researchers in Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism.

medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare Ltd. © 2021 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group

18 October 2021: The coronavirus pandemic is affecting all healthcare professionals across the globe. Medicine Matters’ focus, in this difficult time, is the dissemination of the latest data to support you in your research and clinical practice, based on the scientific literature. We will update the information we provide on the site, as the data are published. However, please refer to your own professional and governmental guidelines for the latest guidance in your own country.

Diabetes Obes Metab 2021; doi:10.1111/dom.14547

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