Many patients who have recovered from the coronavirus suffer from long-term complaints afterwards. For example, headache, fatigue or breathing problems. Many still have the feeling for weeks or even months that the body has not yet recovered 100%. But can COVID-19 also lead to the chronic metabolic disease diabetes? The first results from research show that this may be the case.
Consequences of coronavirus
About 8 million people worldwide have been affected by the coronavirus. This only concerns the confirmed infections. The numbers are probably many times higher, because many people have not been tested. More than 6000 people have now died from the virus in the Netherlands. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, it has become apparent that various factors lead to an increased risk of infection and death, such as old age, smoking and people with lung disease, cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Between twenty and thirty percent of the deceased corona patients turned out to have diabetes.
ACE2 protein
But now an international research team is setting the trend The New England Journal of Medicine that the coronavirus can also lead to diabetes. Although research is still in its early stages, it appears that the protein ACE2 has something to do with this. The coronavirus attaches to this protein and then enters the cells in our body. ACE2 is found in the lungs, nose and intestines and helps repair damage in these places. People who are considered a risk factor appear to produce more of these proteins, making it easier for the coronavirus to enter the body. This protein also appears to occur in the tissues and organs that regulate glucose metabolism, such as the pancreas, kidneys and liver. Infection with the coronavirus may therefore disrupt the function of glucose metabolism.
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The researchers agree that many questions still remain unanswered. For example, it is not yet known which type of diabetes it is. Is it type 1 or 2 diabetes? Or is it a new type of diabetes? There is also still a lot of uncertainty about the percentage of patients who suffer from diabetes complaints and how long these complaints last. To answer these questions, a global registry is being opened where doctors can keep records of patients who develop diabetes-like symptoms.
Glucose metabolism
Glucose metabolism is regulated by the hormone insulin. This is important in regulating glucose levels. Glucose is used by the body as energy. It comes from the carbohydrates in our food and is absorbed into the blood through the intestines. If you consume carbohydrates while eating or drinking, the glucose level in the blood rises. The hormone insulin then ensures that glucose is transported from the blood to cells throughout the body. In diabetes patients, the body no longer produces insulin or the insulin release no longer works properly. The result is that too much glucose remains in the blood. First the body will try to get rid of this excess amount through the urine. But without treatment it can lead to fainting or even a coma.
Are there more people who have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a later age? And if so, what steps have you taken, for example with your internist?
Since last week I discovered by chance that my mmol/L had increased (17.7) and my HBa1C value had increased to 107, which put me in the diabetes mill. To date, they have no answer to the question why I started developing this at a later age (I am now 29 years old), which is in principle too "old" for type 1 and has no further reason for type 2.
Now I came across this article and I want to look into it further. What I read at first glance is that this is still being investigated for the time being.
Hi Yannick,
Have you made any progress in your search for the relationship between diabetes and corona? How are you doing now?