to analyze the effect of an app on Nursing students' knowledge about diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their self-assessment and satisfaction level.

a quasi-experimental study carried out with 40 Nursing students from the Brazilian Northeast region. The E-MunDiabetes® app was used to assess the participants' knowledge at the pre-test, immediate post-test and after 15 days, as well as their self-assessment and satisfaction level in relation to using the app. The analysis was performed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics (binomial test, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient and Wilcoxon's test).

the comparison of the medians of correct answers in the three periods revealed a significant increase in the post-test. The self-assessment and satisfaction items presented an Agreement Index > 80%, with a total Agreement Index of 96.3% and an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient of 0.91.

the app was considered satisfactory and promoted a significant increase in the students' knowledge, therefore being suitable for its intended use.

To identify and describe the mechanisms of lifestyle characteristics-obesity, DM, hypertension and physical inactivity-that may lead to the severity of illness among individuals with COVID-19.

A scoping review was conducted by searching electronic databases of PubMed and Scopus from December 2019 to August 2020.

inclusion criteria were studies that explicitly describe the mechanism of COVID-19 in relationship with either hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM), obesity and/or physical inactivity. Studies of epidemiological background, descriptive surveys and interventional studies were excluded.

study characteristics were tabulated according to purpose, type of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the hypothesis on the mechanism of infestation (MOI) and conclusion.

NCDs were categorized according to type and hypothesis on mechanisms of infestation. The interplay between COVID-19, type of NCDs and MOI leading to the severity of the disease was appraised.

Twenty-four (24) studies were identified from 357 unique records. Eight studies postulated the mechanism of infestation and interaction between COVID 19 illness severity and Obesity, while 7 studies described COVID-19 and DM. Five studies highlighted the interaction between COVID-19 and hypertension with 4 studies showing how physical activity restriction suppresses immunity.

The current review, identified and explicitly described the mechanisms of the lifestyle characteristics that may increase the severity of illness among people with COVID-19.

COVID-19 has gravely threatened high-risk populations, such as people with diabetes and other noncommunicable diseases, leading to disproportionate hospitalizations and deaths worldwide. It is well documented from previous outbreaks that diabetes increases the risk for poor outcomes due to SARS infection. In the present review, we bring evidence that the country and global level health crisis caused by COVID-19 could have been avoided or extremely minimized if measures to protect high-risk populations were implemented timely. In addition to general lockdowns, testing, tracing, isolation and hygiene measures, other specific interventions for diabetes and comorbidities management were shown crucial to allow the continuation of care services during the pandemic. These interventions included: teleconsultation, digital remote education andmonitoring, e-prescriptions, medicine delivery options, mobile clinics, and home point-of-care tests. In conclusion, we recommend prompt actions to protect the most vulnerable groups, valuing knowledge and experiences from previous outbreaks and lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to shield communities, health systems and the global economy.