Every day, Dr. Kathryn Sumpter peels back her shirt sleeve to reveal the insulin monitor on her upper arm, showing young patients what it looks like to live with type 1 diabetes.
E-Mail
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Non-Hispanic black patients with Type 1 diabetes and COVID-19 were almost four times as likely to present to the hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) compared to non-Hispanic whites, according to an article published in
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism by Le Bonheur Pediatric Endocrinologist Kathryn Sumpter, MD.
The study examined 180 patients with Type 1 diabetes and laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from 52 clinical sites, including Le Bonheur Children s. The objective of the study was to evaluate instances of DKA, a serious complication of Type 1 diabetes, in patients with Type 1 diabetes and COVID-19 and determine if minorities had increased risk when controlled for sex, age, insurance and last hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level.