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# Diabetes was commoner in older US flu inpatient deaths than in COVID deaths
- URL: https://www.coios.me/diabetes-was-commoner-in-older-us-flu-inpatient-deaths-than/
- Published: 2026-09-17T09:25:33.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-17T09:25:33.000Z
- Description: Among US inpatient decedents aged over 65, 46.6% of those dying of COVID-19 had diabetes compared with 63.1% of influenza decedents after age standardisation, indicating the widely cited diabetes share of COVID deaths was not distinctive to that virus.
- Author: Daniel Ryan
- Tags: Healthcare today, Obesity, diabetes and the GLP-1 drugs, Infectious disease and pandemics, United States, #peer-reviewed, #refines, #item, #source-2026-09

The study compared the proportion of inpatient decedents aged over 65 with pre-existing diabetes for COVID-19 (National COVID Cohort Collaborative electronic health records) and for influenza (Medicare claims). Diabetes was present in 46.6% (95% CI 46.1-47.0) of COVID-19 decedents and, age-standardised, 63.1% (95% CI 59.1-67.1) of influenza decedents. The high comorbidity share reported early in the pandemic was therefore not specific to COVID-19.

*Why it is interesting: Puts a widely repeated pandemic statistic against a comparator, showing comorbidity shares among decedents say more about who dies of respiratory infection at all than about any one pathogen.*

Source

[Cardiovascular diabetology. Endocrinology reports, 2026-09-15](https://doi.org/10.1186/s40842-026-00325-0?ref=coios.me)

DOI

10.1186/s40842-026-00325-0

Type

Peer-reviewed article

Design

Cross-sectional comparison of two US databases (N3C EHR enclave for COVID-19, Medicare claims for influenza), inpatient decedents aged over 65

Verdict

Refines prior evidence

Driver

[Obesity, diabetes and the GLP-1 drugs](https://www.coios.me/d-obesity-diabetes/)

Driver

[Infectious disease and pandemics](https://www.coios.me/d-infectious-disease/)