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Brazilian Journal of Clinical Medicine and Review

Special Issue: Health Research in Sub-Saharan Africa

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): January/December - 2026

Clinical Parameters and In-hospital Mortality from COVID-19 in Diabetic Patients: Evidence from a Study in Angola

DOI
https://doi.org/10.52600/2965-0968.bjcmr.2026.4.1.bjcmr47
Submitted
May 25, 2025
Published
2025-11-11

Abstract

COVID-19 was first identified in China and, within a few months, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Among the risk factors associated with unfavorable outcomes, diabetes mellitus stands out, often related to a higher incidence of complications and mortality. This study aimed to assess the demographic and laboratory characteristics of diabetic patients admitted to the ward and ICU with COVID-19 in Luanda, Angola, and analyze their relationship with in-hospital mortality. This is an observational, analytical, and retrospective study involving 234 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and diabetes mellitus admitted to Clínica Sagrada Esperança between March 2020 and March 2022. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. The median age of the patients was 61 years, with a predominance of males (70.1%). The in-hospital mortality rate was 21%. Patients who died were significantly older (65 vs. 59 years; p = 0.016), had a shorter interval between symptom onset and hospital admission (5 vs. 7 days; p = 0.019), and a shorter length of stay (8 vs. 10 days; p = 0.032). These patients also had significantly higher levels of leukocytes, neutrophils, urea, creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), C-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), as well as lower lymphocyte counts. In the logistic regression analysis, age, creatinine, NLR, and LDH emerged as independent risk factors for mortality, with creatinine being the main predictor (OR = 12.035). These findings reinforce the prognostic value of clinical and laboratory markers in risk stratification and clinical decision-making in diabetic patients with COVID-19, especially in a population that is still underrepresented in scientific literature.

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