Health experts are wary that COVID-19 might have something to do with the rising cases of coronavirus patients having high blood sugar levels. Some think that infection to the virus might damage the pancreas, the organ responsible for producing insulin.
Furthermore, researchers speculate that not only will diabetes make a coronavirus infection worse, but that COVID-19 might also bring about the onset of the metabolic disease, as arising evidence suggests.
According to The Telegraph, during the first two months of the UK's COVID-19 outbreak, about 25 percent of people admitted with the disease had previously been diagnosed with diabetes. This percentage suggests that the risk of severe coronavirus infection among diabetic was four times more likely than the general population.
Furthermore, in an article in Nature, Paul Zimmet, a diabetes professor at Monash University in Melbourne, said that two pandemics could be clashing. Additionally, he says that COVID-19 could also be damaging cells in charge of producing the hormone insulin.
A handful of COVID-19 patients who arrived at the hospital with elevated blood sugar levels, later on, developed diabetes. Zimmet's assumption has some precedent, as many other viruses are known to accelerate autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes.
In 2009, a study published in Acta Diabetologica found that an infection caused by Sars, which is closely related to SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, triggered the onset of diabetes in some patients.
New-Onset Diabetes Caused by COVID-19
In a new study published in the Lancet just last week, an experiment using a miniature lab-grown pancreas concluded that infection of COVID-19 could bring about new-onset diabetes. Additionally, the study found that the infection caused damage to the cells responsible for regulating blood sugar levels.
The findings of the study have yet to be confirmed in humans. Moreover, the researchers say that it remains unclear whether COVID-19 plays a direct role in the reduction of insulin production.
On June 12, a group of 17 diabetes experts from different parts of the world wrote a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The scientists cautioned that new-onset diabetes is being observed among patients who have tested positive for COVID-19.
Research has revealed that ACE-2, the protein that Sars-Cov-2 binds to when entering the human cell, is not only located in the lungs. Studies have found that it can also be found in organs such as the pancreas, liver, kidney, small intestine, and fat tissue.
Experts believe that by entering tissues from these organs, the virus could cause multiple and intricate dysfunctions of glucose metabolism, thus triggering diabetes.
The CoviDiab Registry Project
Despite speculations, scientists believe that more research is needed to come to a conclusion on the matter. To aid in research, the CoviDiab Registry project was established in early June. The project aims to collect information on Covid-19 patients presenting with high blood sugar levels.
According to Professor James Hildreth, the president of Meharry Medical College, the evidence is building up, suggesting that the coronavirus could cause diabetes. He says that it carries a clear message that pre-diabetic and diabetic patients must definitely avoid a COVID-19 infection.
