Twin disease link can make Covid-19 worse in diabetics and bring diabetes on with coronavirus
- International registry will track prevalence of new phenomenon of diabetes brought on by coronavirus
- 130 million people in China have diabetes, many of whom are not controlling the disease and are at risk of infection
“There is a bidirectional relationship between Covid-19 and diabetes,” the experts wrote in an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine this month. The article was written by a group of 17 experts from around the world, including China, Britain and Australia.
“On the one hand, diabetes is associated with an increased risk of severe Covid-19. On the other hand, new-onset diabetes and severe metabolic complications of pre-existing diabetes … have been observed in patients with Covid-19,” the authors said. They called for more research to be done into Covid-related diabetes.
One of the authors, Professor Francesco Rubino from King’s College London, said the letter was written partly out of concern that new-onset diabetes had been observed in some people with no previous history of the disease.
“It is well known that severe illnesses or infections can increase blood sugar levels through stress-related mechanisms,” he said.
“We therefore think that some, or perhaps many, of the cases of new-onset diabetes observed in patients with Covid-19 could represent the unmasking of pre-existing but unknown diabetes or a temporary alteration that resolves with the resolution of the infection.”
Rubino said the evidence was still preliminary but worrisome as it suggested the hypothesis that the new coronavirus could possibly cause diabetes.