Increased Risk of Common Infections in Patients with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Clinical data on the association of diabetes mellitus with common infections are virtually lacking, not conclusive, and often biased. We intended to determine the relative risks of common infections in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM1 and DM2, respectively).

In a 12-month prospective cohort study conducted as part of the Second Dutch National Survey of General Practice, we compared 705 adult patients who had DM1 and 6712 adult patients who had DM2 with 18,911 control patients who had hypertension without diabetes. Outcome measures were medically attended episodes of infection of the respiratory tract, urinary tract, and skin and mucous membranes. We applied multivariable and polytomous logistic regression analysis to determine independent risks of infections and their recurrences in patients with diabetes, compared with control patients.