Developing COVID-19 is linked to an increased risk of developing diabetes, but being vaccinated against the viral infection may reduce this risk somewhat, according to a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
A number of studies have confirmed that people with diabetes are at greater risk for poor outcomes if they develop COVID-19 — including a higher risk for hospitalization as well as longer-lasting problems like peripheral neuropathy or “long COVID” (a variety of lasting symptoms that can include neurological, respiratory, or gastrointestinal problems). But for people without diabetes, having COVID-19 is also linked to a higher risk of developing diabetes. This has been shown to be the case for type 1 diabetes in children and youth (although there have been conflicting results), as well as when it comes to type 2 diabetes in adults — with a greater risk for developing diabetes than is seen following other respiratory infections. Previous research has also shown that being vaccinated against COVID-19 may reduce or eliminate the increased risk of diabetes linked to having the infection.
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For the latest study, researchers looked at health outcomes following COVID-19 in a group of 23,709 people who were treated in a Southern California health system between March 2020 and June 2022. The researchers compared new cases of certain health conditions in the 90 days before participants developed COVID-19 with the 90 days after they developed the infection. The average age of participants was 47.4, and 54% were female.
COVID-19 linked to higher risk for diabetes
The researchers found that compared with 90 days before developing COVID-19, the risk of developing several health conditions was higher in the 90 days following infection. The risk of developing diabetes was 135% higher, the risk of developing high blood pressure was 54% higher, and the risk of developing high blood lipids (cholesterol or triglycerides) was 22% higher. After adjusting for factors that could affect the risk of developing these conditions such as age, sex, and timing of COVID-19 (since certain viral variants could affect a person’s diabetes risk differently), the researchers found that the risk of developing diabetes was still 58% higher, while the risks for high blood pressure and high blood lipids were no longer significantly higher.
When it came to COVID-19 vaccination status, the results were somewhat murky. While unvaccinated participants were 78% more likely to develop diabetes following COVID-19, the lower risk of developing diabetes linked to being vaccinated was not statistically significant — meaning that in theory, the link was weak enough that it could be due to chance. Still, being vaccinated was linked to a 41% lower risk of developing diabetes following COVID-19. The researchers also found no evidence that participants’ age, sex, or preexisting cardiovascular risk factors played a role in the relationship between vaccination status and diabetes risk.
The researchers concluded that consistent with prior findings, COVID-19 was linked to an elevated risk for diabetes — and that this connection remained as the Omicron variant of the virus became the most common form in circulation. “Mechanisms contributing to postinfection diabetes risk remain unclear, although persistent inflammation contributing to insulin resistance is a proposed pathway,” the researchers wrote.
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