A new study has found a link between SARS-CoV-2 infection and an increased risk of developing diabetes.
The data shows that 1 in 20 new cases of diabetes may be associated with infection with Covid-19.
The results of this study add to the growing body of evidence that the pandemic can exacerbate the diabetes crisis rapidly, with those who develop severe illness from Covid-19 being more vulnerable.
However, lifestyle factors such as being overweight or obese are still major risk factors for developing diabetes.
Although previous studies have suggested that SARS-CoV-2 infection may increase the risk of developing diabetes, possibly through damage to insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, these studies have either been relatively small or limited to certain groups of people, such as the elderly. , American veterans who may not be representative of the general population.
To dig deeper, Professor Navid Janjua of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and colleagues turned to the British Columbia Covid-19 Cohort, a monitoring platform that links data on COVID-19 infections and vaccines with social, demographic and administrative data. health data.
They looked at the records of 629,935 people who had a PCR test for “Covid-19” and found that those who tested positive were significantly more likely to receive a new diagnosis of type 1 or type 2 diabetes in the following weeks and months. 3-5% of new cases of diabetes are associated with “Covid-19” in general.
“Another way to put it this way: out of 100 people with diabetes, 3-5% are associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection,” Janjua said in an article published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.
Men and women hospitalized with COVID-19 appear to be at higher risk. However, in the general population, the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and diabetes risk was only significant for men, possibly due to sex-specific immune responses to the virus.
“Given the large number of people infected with COVID-19, these excess cases of diabetes could lead to a very large population-level burden of diabetes, which could put strain on already overburdened health systems,” Ganjwar said.
This highlights the importance of keeping healthcare organizations and healthcare professionals aware of the potential long-term effects of COVID-19. It may be important to monitor people who have recovered from Covid-19 for the possibility of developing diabetes, especially those who become more severe during the acute phase of infection, as early detection and treatment can be critical to treatment diabetes. In addition, diet and physical activity can help control the risk of diabetes.
Source: Guardian
