Abstract

OBJECTIVE
In this study we examine whether hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia increases long-term cardiovascular mortality more than other hospitalized pneumonias in people with type 2 diabetes and aim to quantify the relative cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risks associated with COVID-19 versus non-COVID-19 pneumonia.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
With use of the SCI-Diabetes register, two cohorts were identified: individuals with type 2 diabetes in 2016 and at the 2020 pandemic onset. Hospital and death records were linked for determination of pneumonia exposure and CVD deaths. Poisson regression estimated rate ratios (RRs) for CVD death associated with both pneumonia types, with adjustment for confounders. Median follow-up durations were 1,461 days (2016 cohort) and 700 days (2020 cohort).

RESULTS
The adjusted RR for CVD death following non-COVID-19 pneumonia was 5.51 (95% CI 5.31–5.71) prepandemic and 7.3 (6.86–7.76) during the pandemic. For COVID-19 pneumonia, the RR was 9.13 (8.55–9.75). Beyond 30 days post pneumonia, the RRs converged, to 4.24 (3.90–4.60) for non-COVID-19 and 3.35 (3.00–3.74) for COVID-19 pneumonia, consistent even with exclusion of prior CVD cases.

CONCLUSIONS
Hospitalized pneumonia, irrespective of causal agent, marks an increased risk for CVD death immediately and over the long-term. COVID-19 pneumonia poses a higher CVD death risk than other pneumonias in the short-term, but this distinction diminishes over time. These insights underscore the need for including pneumonia in CVD risk assessments, with particular attention to the acute impact of COVID-19 pneumonia.

Rights

Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. More information is available at https://www.diabetesjournals.org/journals/pages/license.

Cite as

McGurnaghan, S., McKeigue, P., Blackbourn, L., Mellor, J., Caparrotta, T., Sattar, N., Kennon, B., McAllister, D., Wild, S. & Colhoun, H. 2024, 'Impact of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 hospitalised pneumonia on longer term cardiovascular mortality in people with type 2 diabetes: A nationwide prospective cohort study from Scotland', Diabetes Care, article no: dc240124. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc24-0124

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Last updated: 01 August 2024
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