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Review
. 2023 Aug;23(8):207-216.
doi: 10.1007/s11892-023-01515-1. Epub 2023 Jun 7.

Does COVID-19 Infection Increase the Risk of Diabetes? Current Evidence

Rachel Wong  1   2 , Emily Lam  3 , Carolyn T Bramante  4 , Steven G Johnson  5 , Jane Reusch  6 , Kenneth J Wilkins  7 , Hsin-Chieh Yeh  8   9
Affiliations
Review

Does COVID-19 Infection Increase the Risk of Diabetes? Current Evidence

Rachel Wong et al. Curr Diab Rep. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Multiple studies report an increased incidence of diabetes following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Given the potential increased global burden of diabetes, understanding the effect of SARS-CoV-2 in the epidemiology of diabetes is important. Our aim was to review the evidence pertaining to the risk of incident diabetes after COVID-19 infection.

Recent findings: Incident diabetes risk increased by approximately 60% compared to patients without SARS-CoV-2 infection. Risk also increased compared to non-COVID-19 respiratory infections, suggesting SARS-CoV-2-mediated mechanisms rather than general morbidity after respiratory illness. Evidence is mixed regarding the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and T1D. SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with an elevated risk of T2D, but it is unclear whether the incident diabetes is persistent over time or differs in severity over time. SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with an increased risk of incident diabetes. Future studies should evaluate vaccination, viral variant, and patient- and treatment-related factors that influence risk.

Keywords: COVID-19; Incident diabetes; SARS-CoV-2; Type 1 diabetes; Type 2 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Wong receives grant support from the National Institutes of Health Agreement OTA OT2HL161847 as part of the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) research program. Dr. Bramante is funded by the National Institute of Digestive, Diabetes, and Kidney Diseases K23DK124654; and Drs. Wong, Reusch, Johnson, Yeh by 3R01DK130351-02S1, National Institutes of Health (NIH). All other authors declare no competing interests.

References

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