A cohort of scientists around the world believe there is growing evidence that Covid-19 can cause diabetes in some patients.
Professor Francesco Rubino, of King’s College London, is leading the call for a full investigation into a possible link between the two diseases. Having seen an increase in type 1 and type 2 diabetes in people who have taken coronavirus, some doctors even consider the possibility that the virus, by altering sugar metabolism, may induce a completely new form of diabetes.
Rubino first realized the possibility of a liaison during a tea party with co-workers about Zoom, where anecdotal cases were being exchanged.
Rubino and others created a record to begin grouping and analyzing these reports. Leading investigators at the registry who have received reports from more than 350 doctors who suspect they have found one or more cases of Covid-induced diabetes have said the figures were hard to ignore.
“In recent months, we’ve seen more cases of patients who had developed diabetes during or shortly after the Covid-19 experience. Now we’re starting to think the link is true: there’s the virus’s ability to cause a malfunction. of sugar metabolism, ”Rubino said.
If there was a biological link, it would be difficult to prove it without a substantial database, he noted. “We said it’s worth starting an investigation because that, especially considering the size of the pandemic, could be a major problem.”
Patients with pre-existing diabetes have a higher risk of serious complications with Covid-19 and are on the UK priority list for receiving the vaccine. The links between other viruses and diabetes and how the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 penetrates various organs has caused concern.
“In my mind, there is no doubt. Covid-19 is certainly a cause of new diabetes, “said Paul Zimmet, a professor of diabetes at Monash University in Australia.” But we still don’t quite understand: first, the magnitude, and second, which of the things we have raised are the main factors “.
Scientists have hypothesized that since Sars-CoV-2 interacts with a receptor called ACE-2 to infiltrate cells into various organs, including the pancreas, it could be altering sugar metabolism. Another potential explanation is the body’s lush antibody response, which aims to fight the virus, overreact and attack key organs to maintain normal glucose levels.
“Now, all of these are theories … theories that are not philosophical, but are based on biology and experience with other viruses,” said Rubino, who is president of metabolic and bariatric surgery.
Other viruses, especially enterovirus infections, have been associated with the cause of type 1 diabetes, in which the body attacks pancreatic cells by frustrating insulin production. Enterovirus antibodies have been reported at higher levels in pregnant mothers of children who have gone on to develop type 1 diabetes and tend to detect more enterovirus infections in children who develop the disease, compared to siblings who do not.
Dr. Sathish Thirunavukkarasu, a researcher at McMaster University in Canada, has conducted a review that encompasses eight studies from different countries in the first five months of the pandemic. Thirunavukkarasu and colleagues found a set of 492 newly diagnosed cases of diabetes among 3,711 hospitalized Covid-19 patients, or a grouped proportion of 14.4%.
These figures include both Covid-19 patients who were diagnosed with diabetes for the first time, and people who had diabetes before but did not know they had the disease, he explained.
It is difficult to ignore the dramatic symptoms of type 1 diabetes, where the body does not make any insulin. But in the case of type 2 diabetes, in which the body cannot produce enough insulin or the insulin does not work properly, the symptoms are easy to lose because they appear gradually.
Around 3.9 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with diabetes as of 2019, but doctors believe there are thousands still undiagnosed, a statistic that has probably worsened due to the pandemic.
Ian Braithwaite, an NHS doctor and co-founder of Habitual, a diabetes prevention and investment company, noted that the analysis of Thirunavukkarasu and colleagues was also limited to hospitalized patients, so it was unclear whether cases of diabetes persisted as they recovered or if rising sugar levels put patients with diabetes at risk.
An increase in sugar level may have nothing to do with diabetes and everything to do with the body’s response to infection. In addition, the steroids used to treat certain patients with Covid-19 are also known to increase blood sugar levels, doctors have pointed out.
Other recent studies have linked Covid-19 to newly-onset diabetes to varying degrees. Researchers in China who followed 2,469 patients with Covid-19 after receiving discharge for six months reported 58 cases (approximately 2.35%) of recurrent diabetes. A separate peer-reviewed study that examined the results of 47,780 Covid-19 patients within five months of hospital discharge in England found that 4.9% of patients were diagnosed with diabetes after ‘high.