Patients with type 2 diabetes are characterized by blunted immune responses, which are affected by glycemic control. A recent study published in the ‘Nature communications’ analyzed the influence of glycemic control on the response to COVID-19 vaccines and the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections.

Data from a prospective observational study enrolling healthcare and educator workers with T2D receiving the mRNA-BNT162b2 vaccine in Campania (Italy) and followed for one year (5 visits, follow-up 346 ± 49 days) after one full vaccination cycle were analyzed for the study. Considering the 494 subjects completing the study, patients with good glycemic control (HbA1c one-year mean < 7%) show a higher virus-neutralizing antibody capacity and a better CD4 + T/cytokine response, compared with those with poor control (HbA1c one-year mean ≥ 7%). The one-year mean of HbA1c is linearly associated with the incidence of breakthrough infections (Beta = 0.068; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.032-0.103; p < 0.001). The comparison of patients with poor and good glycemic control through Cox regression also shows an increased risk for patients with poor control (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.261; 95% CI, 0.097-0.700; p = 0.008). Among other factors, only smoking (HR = 0.290, CI 0.146-0.576 for non-smokers; p < 0.001) and sex (HR = 0.105, CI 0.035-0.317 for females; p < 0.001) are significantly associated with the incidence of breakthrough infections.

The study concluded that poor glycemic control, assessed as mean HbA1c in the post-vaccination period, is associated with lower immune responses and an increased incidence of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections in T2D patients vaccinated with mRNA-BNT162b2.