One in 4 people who died of COVID-19 in English hospitals had diabetes, NHS data finds

• The National Health Service found that type 1 and type 2 diabetes was a leading underlying condition in those who died of COVID-19 in England, according to findings published Thursday by the organization.
• More than one in four people who died with COVID-19 also had diabetes, according to the report.
• After diabetes, the most common comorbidities include "dementia (18%), serious breathing problems (15%), chronic kidney disease (14%)," and ischaemic heart disease (10%)," The Guardian reported.
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One in four people in England who died with COVID-19 also had diabetes, according to data from the National Health Service.

The NHS report published Thursday broke down the underlying conditions of the 22,332 individuals who died of the coronavirus in hospitals in England between March 31 and May 12, and type 1 and type 2 diabetes was the leading comorbidity with 5,873 people, amounting to 26%, The Guardian reported.

The report did not differentiate how many fatalities occurred in those who also had type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

After diabetes, other common underlying conditions include "dementia (18%), serious breathing problems (15%) and chronic kidney disease (14%). One in ten (10%) suffered from ischaemic heart disease," according to The Guardian report.

"It is clear that people with diabetes are more at risk of dying from COVID-19," Partha Kar, a NHS consultant in diabetes and endocrinology, told The Guardian, adding that more details will be published in a follow-up article in a medical journal. It was not immediately clear what medical journal it will be published.

"More detailed analysis is currently underway to understand the link between the two, although initial findings indicate that the threat in people under 40 continues to be very low," Kar continued.

Bridget Turner, director of policy and care improvement at the charity, Diabetes UK, said the statistic released by the NHS highlights the need to better protect those who are "clinically vulnerable" to the virus.

"The fact that more than a quarter of people who have died with COVID-19 have diabetes underlines the urgent need to ensure better protection and extra support is available to those in the clinically vulnerable groups," Turner told The Guardian.