BMC Endocr Disord
. 2023 Jan 6;23(1):5.
doi: 10.1186/s12902-023-01263-z.
Reduced antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patients with newly diagnosed diabetes: a retrospective observational study
Naoya Otsubo 1 , Tatsuya Fukuda 2 3 , Hiroko Beppu 4 , Chisato Maki 1 , Fumihiko Yasui 5 , Tomohide Hanawa 6 , Chise Sugita 6 , Masanori Murakami 7 , Tetsuya Yamada 7 , Michinori Kohara 5 , Sachiko Wakai 4
Affiliations
- PMID: 36604681
- DOI: 10.1186/s12902-023-01263-z
Abstract
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has dramatically impacted global health, and patients with type 2 diabetes have been identified as a high-risk group for COVID-19 infection and the development of severe disease. In response, this study aimed to evaluate whether patients with type 2 diabetes infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could develop antibody responses in the same manner as patients without diabetes, and whether there is a difference in antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 between patients with diabetes diagnosed prior to hospitalization, and those with newly diagnosed diabetes.
Methods: SARS-CoV-2-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels were quantified using two iFlash 3000 Chemiluminescence Immunoassay analyzer kits (Shenzhen YHLO Biotech Co., Ltd.) to detect IgG antibodies specific for nucleocapsid protein (IgG-N), and specific for the S1 subunit of the spike protein (IgG-S1). In 124 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, 40 patients with type 2 diabetes were matched to 40 patients without diabetes using propensity score matching (PSM).
Results: There was no difference in IgG-N and IgG-S1 levels between the patients with diabetes and those without. Of patients with diabetes, 31 patients had known diabetes and nine patients had newly diagnosed diabetes. The median levels of IgG-N at 7-13 days in patients with newly diagnosed diabetes were significantly lower than those in patients with known diabetes (IgG-N; 10.9 vs. 31.0 AU/mL, p = 0.031, IgG-S1; 7.5 vs. 24.4 AU/mL, p = 0.023).
Conclusions: Even after adjusting for covariates using PSM, COVID-19 patients with type 2 diabetes had comparable antibody responses to patients without diabetes. Patients with newly diagnosed diabetes had lower IgG-N and IgG-S1 production in the second week of the disease compared with those with previously known diabetes.
Keywords: Antibodies; COVID-19; Diabetes; Immune system; SARS-CoV-2.