Advanced age and male gender, as well as certain underlying health conditions, like type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity and hypertension predispose to a higher risk of greater COVID-19 severity and mortality.

It is crucial that individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus be kept under very stringent glycaemic control in order to avoid developing various cardiovascular, renal and metabolic complications associated with more severe forms of COVID-19 that lead to increased mortality.

The use of novel antidiabetic agents (dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors, sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists) in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus may have beneficial effects on COVID-19 outcomes.

Relevant studies either show inconsistent results (dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors) or are still too few (sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists) to make definitive conclusions; still, it seems that some novel antidiabetic agents have a favourable effect during the current pandemic.