Is diabetes a risk factor for fungal infections?

Diabetes is a metabolic disease characterized by abnormally high blood glucose levels and associated with complications. In diabetes, with dysregulation and the loss of functions of immune system cells, phagocytic activity, which is necessary to control and kill pathogens and process them for antigen presentation, is reduced. Thus, individuals with diabetes are more prone to infections and more susceptible to certain complications related to infections. Diabetic patients are particularly susceptible to fungal infections because their vascular and immunological systems are compromised. Many different types of fungal infections occur in people with diabetes, but one type with a particularly serious risk of death is mucormycosis. To obtain successful results from combined antifungal treatment and surgical interventions, it is necessary to address the underlying predisposing factors.