The profound impact of COVID-19 on the control and care of diabetic patients: a comprehensive retrospective cohort study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant shift in healthcare services, focusing on pandemic response and emergency preparedness. The Oman Ministry of Health implemented various measures to combat and control COVID-19. However, this shift disrupted routine outpatient appointments, particularly for chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN). This study aims to assess the pandemic's effect on diabetes control, by examining glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure (BP), lipid values (particularly low-density lipoprotein (LDL), body weight/ body mass index (BMI), and comparing these measures to pre-pandemic levels.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 223 people with diabetes (PwD), aged 20-95 years who underwent a blood workup in 2019 and 2020 and were registered in Al-Khuwair Health Centre from March to December 2020. Data was extracted from the Al Shifa 3plus System and National Diabetic Register (NDR), and analyzed using SPSS.

Results: Out of 260 PwD identified, 223 met the inclusion criteria, while 37 were excluded due to recent diagnoses or missing follow-up in 2019. Significant changes were observed in HbA1C, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and BMI from 2019 to 2020. Mean HbA1c increased from 6.9% in 2019 to 7.2% in 2020. Mean SBP rose from 131.22 mmHg in 2019 to 134.84 mmHg in 2020, while mean BMI increased from 30.49 to 30.80. No significant changes were found in LDL levels or diastolic BP.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare systems globally, and the consequences on health and mortality were not only due to the direct impact of the virus, but also to the modifications in priorities. These interruptions in inconsistent care, had consequences for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes. Future strategic plans should be prepared and implemented to manage NCD cases in case of pandemics.