Study: People risk developing diabetes, cardiovascular diseases right after COVID-19

And the study found that the risk of diabetes remained elevated for at least 12 weeks.

The scientists analyzed electronic records for 1,356 United Kingdom family practices representing 13.4 million people.

The study’s participants included 428,650 COVID-19 patients without diabetes or cardiovascular diseases who were individually matched with 428,650 control patients on age, sex and family practice — and followed up to January 2022 for incidence of these illnesses.

This represents “the first large study to provide some clear hard data on the risk of cardiovascular disorders and diabetes after COVID-19 infection so that physicians can decide how to mitigate the risk,” Dr. Ajay Shah, a study co-author, told UPI in an email.

The study is important because it potentially affects so many people, Shah said. He noted that “the nature of COVID-19 is such that it affects the heart and vascular system.”

Shah, a professor of medicine and cardiology at King’s College London, pointed to a potential upside, though. According to the findings, COVID-19 infection is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disorders and diabetes in the short term, but not the longer term.

Shah said this probably is the case “because the risk is related to complications caused by COVID-19, but most people can recover from it.”

He added that it is “reassuring” to see that the risk declines quite quickly after recovery from the acute COVID-19 illness.

“Similar to other studies, we found an increased risk of [cardiovascular disease and diabetes] in the year preceding COVID-19 diagnosis and in the acute stages of infection,” Rezel-Potts, the study’s lead author, told UPI in an email.

She said that it is important to note that COVID-19 patients face an increased risk of diabetes mellitus for at least three months after infection.

She added that it’s “interesting that we see [cardiovascular disease] risk is so highly elevated during acute-COVID-19 before a rapid decline, whereas [diabetes] risk is very high initially and then remains elevated by 27% from four to 12 weeks.”

“This does fit with what we know about how these conditions typically present,” said Rezel-Potts, postdoctoral researcher in epidemiology and public health in the School of Life Course & Population Sciences at King’s College London.

“Cardiovascular conditions are associated with acute presentations that may lead to early diagnosis, whereas diabetes can vary in the time it takes to be diagnosed,” she said.

The researchers offered some recommendations, which Rezel-Poots said are directed toward clinicians “who are likely best placed to advise recovering COVID-19 patients on preventative steps suitable for their health status.”

“We suggest that clinical and public health interventions to reduce diabetes risk are targeted towards patients recovering from COVID-19, such as advice on healthy diet and exercise,” she said.

As for recommendations on handling the increased risk of cardiovascular disease post-COVID-19, Shah said, “It’s a combination of lifestyle factors — such as healthy eating, exercise as far as possible — and appropriate medications for those who deserve them. “

Shah said it is quite likely that development of the conditions might be due to the participants’ already existing level of health before COVID-19 infection.

“It may be that COVID-19 has exacerbated a tendency that was previously sub-clinical and not apparent,” he said.

Rezel-Potts described the findings as “reassuring” given that the increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes “does start to decline after 12 weeks from COVID-19 diagnosis and return to baseline within 13 to 52 weeks.”

“The virus is believed to trigger events that can affect multiple systems in the body, including a dysregulated immune response and cell dysfunction,” she said. “Regarding diabetes, this might be related to direct infection of SARS-CoV-2 in pancreatic cells.”

Or, she said, it “could also be the case that COVID-19 reduces physical activity leading to greater insulin resistance. And people’s contacts with medical care for COVID-19 also may also lead to detection of previously undiagnosed diabetes