Project #135:
Impact of COVID-19 on diabetes care in England

Diabetes is a condition in which your blood sugar level is too high. It can happen when your body doesn’t produce enough insulin, the body’s own insulin is not effective, or if your body cannot produce any insulin at all. Prolonged high blood sugar levels can have negative health consequences, such as seriously damaging your heart, eyes, feet, or kidneys. The aim of diabetes treatment is to keep your blood glucose at a healthy level, to lower your chances of getting complications.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption to healthcare services. A reduction in routine blood sugar monitoring and subsequent treatment adjustments in diabetes patients may increase the risk of complications for these individuals.

The purpose of this study is to describe any changes in routine diabetic management during the COVID-19 pandemic, signalled by changes to measures defined in NICE guidance. For example we plan to report the overall rate of diabetes within the study population and then describe variation in both diabetes monitoring and treatment. Additionally we plan to report differences between subgroups of interest, for example: age groups, geographical regions, other illnesses This may help to better understand inequalities in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight potential areas for further research and improvement.