Baseline moderate-range albuminuria is associated with protection against severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is considered a leading contributor to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Aim: To characterize differences between hospitalized diabetic patients with without COVID-19, and parameters associated with COVID-19 severity for prediction.

Methods: This case-control study included 209 patients with type 2 diabetic mellitus hospitalized at the Galilee Medical Center (Nahariya, Israel) and recruited between September 2020 and May 2021, 65 patients with COVID-19 infection in dedicated wards and 144 COVID-19-negative patients in internal medicine wards hospitalized due to other reasons.