Studies reveal that people who are positive for Covid-19 are 28 percent more likely to get diabetes.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The study found that people who contracted Covid-19 were 28 percent more likely to develop diabetes type 2. This disease affects about five million people in the UK.
When you have diabetes, your body can’t process sugar or carbohydrates from food properly. Doctors at Heinrich Heine University in Germany say the swelling is triggered by an immune reaction to corona virus can damage cells that produce insulin, the hormone that controls the absorption of sugar.
In a study of 35,865 people who tested positive for the coronavirus, they found the risk of getting type 2 diabetes was 28 percent higher than in people who had never had the disease. Prof Wolfgang Rathmann said Covid-19 infection can cause diabetes by upregulation of the immune system.
“Patients may be at risk of developing diabetes because they are obese or pre-diabetic, and the stress that Covid-19 puts on their bodies accelerates it,” he said. The SunFriday (18/3/2022).
Prof Rathmann said, weight gain and lack of exercise during lock down may have exacerbated the problem. Both are known to increase the risk of diabetes.
Writing in a journal Diabetology, Prof Rathmann said, the same effect was not seen after other lung infections. There are an estimated 42 million Covid-19 infections in the UK so far, putting millions of people at risk.
Type 2 diabetes is common. The disease is associated with a higher risk of stroke, heart disease, and cancer.
“This study, and others, suggest the coronavirus may trigger type 2 diabetes,” said Dr Faye Riley of Diabetes UK.
–
