Yan Xie and Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly (the latter is the Director of Research, VA St. Louis Health Care System) combed through the Veteran’s Affairs national database, examining the records of some 181, 280 participants who developed COVID-19 between 1 March and 30 September 2021, and survived at least 30 days of the illness. These were compared to two control groups- 4,118,441 during the same time frame and a similar one (4,286,911 from 1 March 2018 and 30 September 2018) that manifested no evidence of COVID-19. None of the participants had diabetes before inclusion in the cohorts.
Not surprisingly, those who manifested COVID-19 were more likely to develop type-2 diabetes within a year. (This was true regardless of the severity of the COVID-19 case; but the great the severity, the more pronounced the diabetes.)
This study does not demonstrate causation- only correlation. But, it’s an important factor nevertheless, especially with a 46% more likely case for diabetes, if one developed COVID-19.
These results were published in the Lancet, the eminent British medical journal. Smaller studies had intimated such a relationship, but this was the broadest and most complete analysis to date. (It also examined the results from 31 days to 1 year post infection.)
One should note that VA patients tend to be older than the general population- plus with significantly higher White and male contingents. But, the risks for all the subgroups (racial groups, gender, and age) were examined by the researchers and was evident throughout them all.
You do remember that type 2 diabetes differs from type 1 in that insulin is produced in lower levels; where type 1 sufferers have no insulin production effected in their pancreas. This means the development of type 2 disease is more likely related to an inflammation response to the virus- or by the body’s response to the virus per se.
Nevertheless, this is a disheartening finding. Those that survive COVID are far more likely to develop diabetes.
Ready to don your mask, now? Or get that course of vaccinations?
We aren’t going to know the full extent of COVID damage in the population for a while longer, I fear – and people aren’t going to believe it’s relted if they didn’t believe in the existence of COVID to begin with. That disbelief and disinformation may be the most damaging side effect of COVID there is.
I think the disbelief was already nascent- this just uncovered the full extent of it.