Vaughan doctor: 'Majority of diabetic patients who experienced COVID-19 have done well'

Patients urged to ‘control’ diabetes and stay ‘vigilant’

Yorkregion.com
August 31, 2020
Dina Al-Shibeeb

Having COVID-19 when one is diabetic isn't the end of the world.

Ronald Goldenberg, an endocrinologist, metabolism and diabetes expert from Vaughan, described how the “large majority” of his patients who experienced COVID-19 have “done well.”

“I think it's important for our patients to understand that even those with diabetes and other risk factors have done quite well,” said Goldenberg. “So just because you have these factors for COVID-19 and you get it, doesn't mean you're going to be seriously ill. Some people with those risk factors still can do perfectly well.”

However, “unfortunately, we’ve had a few who died” after COVID-19, he added, but those people were already in long-term care facilities.

While Goldenberg cautioned his patients to be “vigilant” and adhere to social distancing, washing your hands, and wearing masks, he urged patients to “control” their diabetes.

“We’ve also encouraged our patients to get optimal control of their diabetes because there are at least a few studies now that suggest if you have poorly controlled diabetes that would be a greater risk factor for serious COVID-19 compared to if you had well-controlled diabetes.”

Goldenberg, who has up to 2,000 patients, also highlighted how most diabetics are “overweight,” and this is also a risk factor when it comes to COVID-19.

“Over 85 per cent or so of people with Type 2 diabetes are either overweight or obese,” he said. “And that could be one of the reasons people with diabetes are more at risk of severe COVID-19 because obesity seems to be one of those other risk factors for severe disease.”

Today, there are 11 million Canadians who live with diabetes or prediabetes, where about 90 per cent have Type 2 diabetes where the body does not make enough insulin or cannot properly use the insulin it produces.

Asked if he had more patients trying to lose weight over the quarantine after Ontario declared a state of emergency on March 17, he said: “It's been a mix.”

“Some people have actually gained weight,” he said, describing how staying at home had made people snack more and be less active than usual.

Goldenberg noted “emotional and stress eating” is a “big problem.”

Others, however, “seem to find more time to be active, and because of less stressful day to day routine.”

“Whether working from home or just being in the comforts of their own environment, others have found it easier to eat healthy.”

Last year, Diabetes Canada showed how the rates of diabetes and prediabetes continue to rise.

With this new data, Diabetes Canada also unearthed how general knowledge of the disease was uncovered.

The study found that less than 50 per cent of all Canadians can identify less than half of the early warning signs of diabetes, only 33 per cent are aware that stroke is a complication of diabetes and only 40 per cent identified heart disease as a complication of diabetes.

In time of COVID-19, diabetes is considered to be an underlying condition, which could make diabetics face a higher rate of serious complications than those without it.

He also urged people to check diabetes.ca. He dubbed the website as very “educational.”

“It's very, very helpful and often when patients call into our clinic and are worried we refer them on to that website.”

So far, Goldenberg’s clinic has a “mixed model” where about 40 per cent of his patients are “now being seen live in the clinic and 60 per cent are still virtual visits.”

He said it’s not a “permanent model,” but added: “Even if the numbers are pretty small, until there's a vaccine, this new model is moving forward.”