Can I get a COVID increase my risk of developing diabetes? | Coronavirus pandemic

From the early days of the pandemic, it is well known that diabetics infected with COVID-19 are at increased risk of developing severe illness and long-term COVID. However, recent studies suggest that infection with the virus may also increase the risk of developing diabetes.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 affects people in a variety of ways. Initially thought to be a respiratory virus, it has become clear that as the pandemic progresses, it can adversely affect various parts of the body other than the lungs, increasing the risk of chronic health problems. became.Many doctors treating patients with COVID-19 in the early stages of the pandemic reported having problems. Manage Their blood glucose levels, even when the patients were not diabetic. Many clinicians wondered why this was happening because of the elevated blood sugar levels in non-diabetic patients, as it was thought to be primarily a respiratory virus. A study According to the announcement in late 2020, nearly 15% of severe COVID-19 patients developed diabetes. This may be underestimated, as one of Stanford University’s subsequent studies showed a much higher proportion of patients infected with severe COVID-19. paper It is estimated that as many as 30 percent of people can develop diabetes.

another study Looking at the health status of veterans, we found that men were particularly at high risk of developing diabetes after being infected with SARS-CoV-2. Almost all cases detected are type 2 diabetes, which makes the body resistant or does not produce enough insulin. The study did not say that COVID caused diabetes in veteran men who recovered from COVID, but showed a 40% increased risk of being subsequently diagnosed with diabetes. Veterans may not represent the population as they may suffer significant difficulties that may affect their physical and mental health and increase the risk of long-term conditions. Also worth paying attention to.

Nevertheless, adults are not the only ones to have a link between SARS-CoV-2 and diabetes. In January 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study It spans 15 months. We investigated the risk of developing all types of diabetes in people under the age of 18 who have been infected with COVID-19 for more than 30 days. They compared this with a group of individuals of the same age who were not infected with the virus during the same period, and a second control group infected with other respiratory viruses prior to the pandemic. In this study, people with COVID-19 were 166% more likely to develop diabetes 30 days or more after infection than those without COVID-19, compared to others. We found that we were 116% more likely to develop diabetes. Respiratory virus before a pandemic.

For several reasons, it is important to understand the link between COVID-19 and diabetes. Doctors need to monitor the blood sugar levels of the patients they care for and know that they may be at risk of hyperglycemia (hyperglycemia) even if they are not diabetic. It is also important to know if these same patients need treatment in the form of insulin or other medications to control their blood sugar levels.

Blood sugar and pancreas

But to understand all of this, you need to know that COVID-19 can cause diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic (long-term) health condition that affects how the body converts food into energy. Most of our food is broken down to release sugar and glucose into the bloodstream. When the blood sugar level becomes too high, an organ called the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin. Insulin removes blood sugar from the blood and moves it into the cells, making it available for energy and daily functions. If you have diabetes, your body does not produce enough insulin or cannot use the insulin it produces properly. If you don’t have enough insulin or your cells stop responding to insulin, you have too much blood sugar left in your bloodstream. Over time, it can cause serious health problems such as heart disease, loss of vision, and kidney disease.

Studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 can affect the pancreas and blood sugar in several ways. Scientists have long known that the virus uses a receptor called the angiotensin-converting enzyme type 2 (ACE2) receptor to enter human cells. The cells of the pancreas that make insulin are known as beta cells. In the early stages of the pandemic, it was unclear whether pancreatic beta cells expressed ACE2 receptor cells for virus binding and invasion.However, using state-of-the-art technology, a team of scientists have shown that the ACE2 receptor is widespread. distribution Allows an invasion mode of SARS-CoV-2 virus along the pancreas containing beta cells. The pancreas, an important organ, is supplied with sufficient blood, and it does not take long for the virus to enter the pancreas from the lungs through the bloodstream.

Once inside the beta cells of the pancreas, the virus can alter the cells and even kill them, stopping insulin production. 1 study We have found that infected beta cells change their behavior in that they completely stop the production of insulin, a process known as transdifferentiation.another study We have discovered that when pancreatic beta cells become infected with SARS-CoV-2, they undergo a process of self-destruction called apoptosis. It occurs in injured or infected cells and reduces the risk of infection spreading to other healthy cells. Both of these processes lead to a radical decrease in insulin production without an increase in blood sugar levels. Lack of insulin production due to impaired beta cells is commonly associated with type 1 diabetes in adolescents. This is a similar photo.

Another mechanism by which COVID-19 can raise blood sugar levels and cause hyperglycemia is due to its widespread causative ability. inflammation Increases the risk of insulin resistance systemically. Postmortem findings in people who succumbed to COVID-19 revealed evidence of inflammation, including numerous inflammatory cells found in the heart, lungs, blood vessels, and brain. It is believed that this is because the immune system overreacts to the virus and cannot turn it off. This heavy burden of inflammatory cells can affect skeletal muscle and liver function, both of which play important roles in detecting glucose levels and the body’s insulin requirements.

A careful balance is needed between insulin and blood sugar levels. If you don’t have enough insulin, your blood sugar will remain high, but conversely, if your pancreas overproduces insulin and your body is flooded with hormones, your cells may stop responding to its effects. This is a process known as insulin resistance.

High levels of inflammation in the body are associated with insulin resistance because the pancreas overproduces insulin during the inflammatory state. This means that insulin is being produced, but the cells are not responding to it, so blood sugar levels remain high. It resembles type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance is the main mechanism of action that leads to elevated blood glucose levels.

One of the most useful medicines that can be given to patients with severe COVID-19 is steroids such as dexamethasone. Steroids are important in treating overreactions in the immune system, but they can increase insulin production by the pancreas to levels where cells stop responding to it. This is another form of insulin resistance followed by hyperglycemia.

Diabetes and COVID

All this double pain is that multiple studies show that people with all types of diabetes are at increased risk of becoming seriously ill if they are infected with COVID. actual, Recent research They have shown that if they become infected with COVID, they are up to three times more likely to have a serious or severe illness than those without diabetes. Because reinfection is an ongoing problem, developing diabetes as a result of COVID is at risk of becoming a serious illness if these people re-emerge. Except for alleviation from avoiding infection, the best protection for them is the best possible control of blood glucose, as it is hyperglycemia and subsequent high levels of insulin that cause many complications. Is trying to get.

Of course, some scientists are uncertain about the relationship between COVID-19 and diabetes. People who are most likely to develop hyperglycemia after an infection are said to be at high risk of developing diabetes anyway. I simply pushed them out of the edge. This is similar to what is seen in pregnant women who develop gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy). They are usually women of a particular ethnicity, have a family history of illness, or have risk factors such as being overweight. They are still at high risk of diabetes after birth and require monitoring, but many return to normal blood glucose levels after the baby is born without the need for further treatment.

The long-term effects of diabetes caused by COVID-19 infection are unknown, but one study One-third of new hyperglycemic levels during coronavirus infection showed that they remained in that condition for at least 6 months after recovery. The SARS-CoV-2 virus can also affect other functions of the pancreas, including its role in the production of digestive enzymes.

Data is Collected The King’s College London team attempted to understand the broader meaning of COVID-19 and the pancreas. Although unproven, type 1 diabetes, which usually affects young people and is associated with the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin, has long been suspected to be caused by an overreactive immune response to viral infections. I did. .. If researchers can show a causal link between COVID-19 and diabetes, this may support that theory and help us understand the causes of common type 1 diabetes.

The truth is that you are learning in real time about the coronavirus and its effects on the body. There may be a link between the virus and diabetes. It takes years and research to determine if it is a direct link, but until then, doctors will continue to monitor blood glucose levels in people hospitalized with COVID-19.