We know people with diabetes are at higher risk for the coronavirus, but it turns out that the coronavirus can cause someone to develop diabetes.
According to a study in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, about 14% of people hospitalized for severe COVID-19 later develop diabetes.
Daniel Ruck, a nurse at the endocrine office in Florence, said they had seen a slight increase in patients diagnosed with diabetes, but said type 1 diabetes was often linked to viral infections.
“It’s not really surprising that the COVID virus is causing an increase in incidents, as we know other viruses have this association,” he said.
Ruck said the office was always manned, but in retrospect he had seen an increase in diabetes patients since the pandemic began. There is currently no conclusive research showing that the correlation between the coronavirus increases the likelihood of developing diabetes.
“We don’t know exactly how and why it happens. What we do know is that there is an association and that association tends to span multiple viruses and COVID appears to be one of them, “Ruck said.
Ruck said if you’re pre-diabetic and you get the coronavirus or a viral infection, the disease could be the turning point for diabetes.
“If you are about to have type 1 diabetes, this could help push you over the edge.”
He said the coronavirus hasn’t been around long enough to know the long-term effects and implications of the diabetes-causing virus.
