Explore the vast range of titles available.

Patients with diabetes who get coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at risk of a severe disease course and mortality. Several factors especially the impaired immune response, heightened inflammatory response and hypercoagulable state contribute to the increased disease severity. However, there are many contentious issues about which the evidence is rather limited. There are some theoretical concerns about the effects of different anti-hyperglycaemic drugs. Similarly, despite the recognition of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as the receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2), and the role of ACE2 in lung injury; there are conflicting results with the use of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) in these patients. Management of patients with diabetes in times of restrictions on mobility poses some challenges and novel approaches like telemedicine can be useful. There is a need to further study the natural course of COVID-19 in patients with diabetes and to understand the individual, regional and ethnic variations in disease prevalence and course.

Hand grip strength (HGS) serves as a fundamental metric in assessing muscle function and overall physical capability and is particularly relevant to the ageing population. HGS holds an important connection to the concept of sarcopenia, which encompasses the age-related decline in muscle mass, strength, and function. It has also been reported to indicate the health of an individual. We reviewed the interplay between HGS and various health parameters, including morbidity and mortality, by carrying out a literature search on PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar between 10 and 30 August 2023, to identify the relevant papers on the relationship between health and HGS. We used several keywords like ‘hand grip strength’, ‘muscle strength, ‘sarcopenia’, ‘osteosarcopenia’, ‘health biomarker’, ‘osteoporosis’, and ‘frailty’, to derive the appropriate literature for this review. This review has shown that the HGS can be measured reliably with a hand-held dynamometer. The cut-off values are different in various populations. It is lower in Asians, women, less educated and privileged, and those involved in sedentary work. Several diseases have shown a correlation with low HGS, e.g., Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic kidney and liver disease, some cancers, sarcopenia and fragility fractures. The low HSG is also associated with increased hospitalization, nutritional status, overall mortality and quality of life. We believe that there is adequate evidence to show that HGS stands as an important biomarker of health. Its utility extends to the identification of diverse health issues and its potential as a new vital sign throughout the lifespan.

Common ground on dietary approaches for the prevention, management, and potential remission of type 2 diabetes can be found, argue Nita G Forouhi and colleagues

The advent and rapid spread of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID19) pandemic across the world has focused attention on the relationship of commonly occurring comorbidities such as diabetes on the course and outcomes of this infection. While diabetes does not seem to be associated with an increased risk of COVID19 infection per se, it has been clearly demonstrated that the presence of hyperglycemia of any degree predisposes to worse outcomes, such as more severe respiratory involvement, ICU admissions, need for mechanical ventilation and mortality. Further, COVID19 infection has been associated with the development of new-onset hyperglycemia and diabetes, and worsening of glycemic control in pre-existing diabetes, due to direct pancreatic damage by the virus, body’s stress response to infection (including cytokine storm) and use of diabetogenic drugs such as corticosteroids in the treatment of severe COVID19. In addition, public health measures taken to flatten the pandemic curve (such as lockdowns) can also adversely impact persons with diabetes by limiting their access to clinical care, healthy diet, and opportunities to exercise. Most antidiabetic medications can continue to be used in patients with mild COVID19 but switching over to insulin is preferred in severe disease.

The advent and rapid spread of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID19) pandemic across the world has focused attention on the relationship of commonly occurring comorbidities such as diabetes on the course and outcomes of this infection. While diabetes does not seem to be associated with an increased risk of COVID19 infection per se, it has been clearly demonstrated that the presence of hyperglycemia of any degree predisposes to worse outcomes, such as more severe respiratory involvement, ICU admissions, need for mechanical ventilation and mortality. Further, COVID19 infection has been associated with the development of new-onset hyperglycemia and diabetes, and worsening of glycemic control in pre-existing diabetes, due to direct pancreatic damage by the virus, body’s stress response to infection (including cytokine storm) and use of diabetogenic drugs such as corticosteroids in the treatment of severe COVID19. In addition, public health measures taken to flatten the pandemic curve (such as lockdowns) can also adversely impact persons with diabetes by limiting their access to clinical care, healthy diet, and opportunities to exercise. Most antidiabetic medications can continue to be used in patients with mild COVID19 but switching over to insulin is preferred in severe disease.

Objective To assess the association between glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1RA) treatment and the risk of suicide attempts in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D), with a focus on subgroups with and without a history of depression or suicide attempts. Methods This retrospective cohort study utilized TriNetX, a federated network of real‐world data. Using the Global Collaborative Network data, we collected electronic medical records from 113 health care organizations with 135 million patient records with 8 million with T2D, 83% from the United States. The four cohorts were identified based on age, medication, diagnosis, and presence of depression or suicide attempts. Analytic methods included measures of association and number of Instances, with propensity score matching employed to mitigate potential confounders. The primary outcome was the incidence of suicide attempts among people with T2D with GLP‐1RA treatment in comparison with dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor (DPP‐4i) treatment. Results People with T2D treated with GLP‐1RA consistently exhibited a lower risk of suicide attempts compared to those treated with DPP‐4i. This was particularly significant in people with a history of depression or suicide attempts. The risk and odds ratios were significantly lower in the GLP‐1RA‐treated cohorts than in DPP‐4i across all analyses. Conclusion As compared with DPP‐4i, our analysis shows a protective effect associated with GLP‐1RA treatment on the risk of suicide attempts among people with T2D. However, further research, particularly prospective and randomized studies, is necessary to confirm these observations and understand the underlying mechanisms. Highlights This retrospective cohort study utilized the TriNetX global database and showed that the use of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1RA) is associated with lower suicide risk in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Further, the use of GLP‐1RA was particularly associated with lower suicide risk compared with the use of dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor (DPP‐4i) in people with T2D with a history of depression or suicide attempts. Overall, based on these data, GLP‐1RA might provide more protection for the risk of suicide attempts compared to DPP‐4i in people with T2D.

Vitamin D deficiency may contribute to etiology of type 2 diabetes in Asian Indians. The objectives of this study was to evaluate effect of vitamin D supplementation on glycemic profile and body composition in prediabetic and vitamin D deficient overweight/obese Asian Indian women. In this open-label randomized placebo-controlled trial (78 weeks duration), 121 females (aged 20–60 years) with prediabetes and vitamin D deficiency were randomly allocated in intervention (n, 61) and placebo (n, 60) groups. The primary outcome variables were fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2-h blood glucose post OGTT (2-h BG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1C), and reversal to normoglycemia. In Intention-to-treat analysis, at the end of intervention, we observed significant decrease in FBG [−5.0 (−12.6–2.4), p = 0.04], 2-h blood glucose post OGTT [−11(−49.3–26.9), p = 0.02], hemoglobin A1c [−0.41 (5.89, 6.55), p = 0.05] and increase in 25(OH) D [7.5 (−6.0–20.9), p = 0.002] levels in intervention as compared to the placebo group. Changes in glycemic category based on FBG were as follows; intervention group: normal FBG, 58.6%; impaired fasting glucose (IFG), 39%; and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), 2.4%; placebo group: normal FBG, 48.8%; IFG, 46.3%; and T2DM, 4.9%. Changes in category of 2-hour glucose post OGTT after intervention were as follows; intervention group: normal glucose tolerance (NGT) 51.2% and prediabetes, 48.8%; placebo group: NGT, 43.9%; prediabetes, 53.7% and T2DM, 2.4%. After intervention, subscapular skinfold (visit I st compared to visit III rd ) and suprailiac skinfold (visit II nd compared to visit III rd ) were significantly lower in intervention group vs . control group. In conclusion, we observed significant reduction in FBG, 2-hour glucose post OGTT, HbA1c, and truncal subcutaneous fat and reversal to normoglycemia in overweight/obese prediabetic vitamin D deficient Asian Indian women after 78 weeks of vitamin D supplementation.

South Asians are more susceptible to diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and have worse outcomes than other ethnicities, say Anoop Misra, Tazeen Jafar, and colleagues. They call for urgent action to provide screening and treatment, complemented by population level lifestyle modifications.

Both diabetes mellitus (DM) and tuberculosis (TB) are prevalent all across in India. TB‐DM comorbidity has emerged as a syndemic and needs more attention in India considering gaps in screening, clinical care, and research. This paper is intended to review published literature on TB and DM in India to understand the burden of the dual epidemic and its trajectory and to obtain perspectives on the gaps, constraints, and challenges in care and treatment of this dual epidemic. A literature search was carried out on PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, using the key words ‘Tuberculosis’ OR ‘TB’ AND ‘Diabetes’ OR ‘Diabetes Mellitus’ AND ‘India’, focusing on the research published between the year 2000 to 2022. The prevalence of DM is high in patients with TB. Quantitative data on the epidemiological situation of TB/DM in India such as incidence, prevalence, mortality, and management are lacking. During the last 2 years convergence of TB‐DM syndemic with the COVID‐19 pandemic has increased cases with uncontrolled DM but also made coordinated control of TB‐DM operationally difficult and of low effectiveness. Research regarding TB‐DM comorbidity is required in the context of epidemiology and management. Detection and bidirectional screening are aggressively warranted. Management of DM in those with TB‐DM comorbidity needs more efforts, including training and supervision of frontline workers. Highlights Some data suggest that coexistence of diabetes mellitus and tuberculosis substantially increases the failure of treatment of antituberculosis drugs. The COVID‐19 pandemic has severely affected the healthcare delivery of tuberculosis‐diabetes mellitus patients. The tuberculosis‐diabetes mellitus syndemic needs a more aggressive focus to have a better outcome.