COVID-19 Vaccine May Help Prevent Diabetes, Cardiovascular Problems Linked to Infection

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Even when it doesn’t actually prevent COVID-19, being vaccinated against the viral infection may help protect people against poor outcomes ranging from diabetes to high blood pressure to death, according to a new analysis published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

People with diabetes — type 1 or type 2 — are known to be at higher risk for poor outcomes if they develop COVID-19, including hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), and death. Studies have also shown that the viral infection can lead to long-term kidney problems — which may be especially concerning for people with diabetes, who are at higher risk for chronic kidney disease and may already have reduced kidney function. But even when it doesn’t lead to life-threatening outcomes, COVID-19 can lead to lasting health problems like depression, diabetes in people who didn’t previously have it, and peripheral neuropathy in people with or without diabetes. So preventing these outcomes in people who develop COVID-19 is a worthwhile goal, even if the infection itself cannot be avoided — and there is long-standing evidence that COVID-19 vaccines may reduce the risk of death from health conditions other than the viral infection itself, possibly by preventing complications of the infection.

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For the latest analysis, researchers looked medical records from nearly 1.58 million adults who had a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 and a follow-up evaluation three months later between September 2020 and December 2021. The main outcomes the researchers were interested in were new or ongoing symptoms, new diagnoses of health conditions, and death in participants who had been previously vaccinated against COVID-19 — those who had a so-called “breakthrough” infection — and those who had not been vaccinated.

COVID vaccination linked to reduced risk for poor outcomes

Overall, only 1.6% of participants with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 had been vaccinated against the viral infection. After adjusting for differences between participants who had been vaccinated and those who hadn’t — such as age, sex, and pre-existing health conditions — the researchers found that vaccinated participants were at lower risk for several poor outcomes 28 days following their COVID-19 diagnosis. Compared with unvaccinated participants, their risk was 67% lower for new cases of high blood pressure, 72% lower for new cases of diabetes, 65% lower for new cases of heart disease, and 79% lower for death from all causes. For each of these outcomes, differences were also apparent 90 days after participants’ COVID-19 diagnosis, and the differences at both 28 days and 90 days were large enough to suggest that vaccination was actually responsible for lower risk seen in vaccinated participants.

The researchers speculated that the differences in health outcomes following COVID-19 diagnosis could be explained by lower inflammatory responses in vaccinated participants, as noted in an article on the study at MedPage Today. But they noted that the actual rate of health problems following COVID-19 — in vaccinated or unvaccinated people — remains unknown, since many people who develop the viral infection have minor symptoms or none at all, and may not get tested for the virus.

Want to learn more about coronavirus and diabetes? Read our latest COVID-19 updates.

Quinn Phillips

Quinn Phillips

Quinn Phillips on social media

A freelance health writer and editor based in Wisconsin, Phillips has a degree from Harvard University. He is a former Editorial Assistant for Diabetes Self-Management and has years of experience covering diabetes and related health conditions. Phillips writes on a variety of topics, but is especially interested in the intersection of health and public policy.

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