New research into Type 2 diabetes and COVID-19 is establishing the risks across different age groups, enabling policymakers to design interventions more effectively
The additional COVID-19 mortality risk associated with diabetes is higher in younger than older people / Shutterstock.com/Nomad_Soul
People aged 40 with Type 2 diabetes face a “disproportionately increased risk of dying from COVID-19” – equivalent to the risk faced by a non-diabetic 20 years older.
The finding comes from a study led by researchers at the University of Exeter, which also shows that the risk of death from COVID-19 among those with Type 2 increases the younger they are, compared with people of a similar age without the condition.
Published in the journal Diabetologia, the study – The disproportionate excess mortality risk of COVID-19 in younger people with diabetes – is based on an analysis of three large-scale datasets and triangulates the evidence on heterogeneity of diabetes effect, by age, on COVID-19 mortality from large population-based and critical care-based studies.
Challenging the young “For a person aged 40 years with Type 2 diabetes, additional mortality risk is equivalent to around 20 years of chronological age, meaning that mortality risk is similar to that of a 60-year-old person without diabetes,” reads the study.
“For a person aged 70 years with diabetes, the additional mortality risk from diabetes is equivalent to an additional eight years of chronological age, meaning that their ‘COVID-age’ is 78 years.”
Although not the only cause, obesity is believed to account for up to 80 per cent of the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, while research suggests that obese people are up to 80 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those with a BMI of less than 22.
The UK has one of the highest levels of obesity in Europe, with more than 1 in 4 (28.1 per cent) adults obese and nearly two out of three (63.4 per cent) people overweight.
Panatta brought together four of the most influential figures in bodybuilding history on the
stage of RiminiWellness 2026: Phil Heath, Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman and Hany Rambod. [more...]
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New research into Type 2 diabetes and COVID-19 is establishing the risks across different age groups, enabling policymakers to design interventions more effectively
The additional COVID-19 mortality risk associated with diabetes is higher in younger than older people / Shutterstock.com/Nomad_Soul
People aged 40 with Type 2 diabetes face a “disproportionately increased risk of dying from COVID-19” – equivalent to the risk faced by a non-diabetic 20 years older.
The finding comes from a study led by researchers at the University of Exeter, which also shows that the risk of death from COVID-19 among those with Type 2 increases the younger they are, compared with people of a similar age without the condition.
Published in the journal Diabetologia, the study – The disproportionate excess mortality risk of COVID-19 in younger people with diabetes – is based on an analysis of three large-scale datasets and triangulates the evidence on heterogeneity of diabetes effect, by age, on COVID-19 mortality from large population-based and critical care-based studies.
Challenging the young “For a person aged 40 years with Type 2 diabetes, additional mortality risk is equivalent to around 20 years of chronological age, meaning that mortality risk is similar to that of a 60-year-old person without diabetes,” reads the study.
“For a person aged 70 years with diabetes, the additional mortality risk from diabetes is equivalent to an additional eight years of chronological age, meaning that their ‘COVID-age’ is 78 years.”
Although not the only cause, obesity is believed to account for up to 80 per cent of the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, while research suggests that obese people are up to 80 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those with a BMI of less than 22.
The UK has one of the highest levels of obesity in Europe, with more than 1 in 4 (28.1 per cent) adults obese and nearly two out of three (63.4 per cent) people overweight.
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Panatta brought together four of the most influential figures in bodybuilding history on the
stage of RiminiWellness 2026: Phil Heath, Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman and Hany Rambod. [more...]
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Safe Space Lockers We provide a full turn-key solution for clients from design and consultation, through to bespoke man [more...]