Not only are people with any form of diabetes significantly more likely to develop potentially deadly blood infections, but the 30-day death rate from this type of blood infection among diabetics could be up to 30 percent, according to new findings published in the European Journal of Endocrinology, Web MD reports. A staph infection is caused by normally harmless bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus that thrives on the skin, but the germs can cause serious health complications if they enter the bloodstream. For the study, Danish researchers tracked the medical records of 30,000 people in Denmark over a 12-year period. Scientists found that staph infection risk was seven times higher among folks with type 1 diabetes, the type where the body has lost its ability to produce insulin. What’s more, these infections were almost three times higher among those with type 2 diabetes, a dysfunction in the body’s ability to use this hormone that controls blood-sugar.

In addition, poor control of diabetes was another factor that upped the risk of staph infection. “Poor management of diabetes can lead to an impaired immune response,” explained Jesper Smit, the study’s author. “This may be the reason why diabetes patients are at a higher risk of infection. Similarly, diabetic patients often suffer associated illnesses. The burden of multiple health care problems can also increase the susceptibility to infection.” The study also showed that having diabetes and kidney problems boosted the odds of getting a staph infection fourfold. People with heart disease, circulation issues and diabetic ulcers were also at an increased risk of the bacterial infection.