Experts: 'Bi-directional relationship' between COVID-19 and diabetes

New Delhi: In a recent finding, medical experts in Delhi are reporting that patients with no history of blood sugar-ailments or diabetes are now seeing high levels of blood sugar after recovering from COVID-19. Hospitals are seeing this trend among patients but are yet to determine whether the novel Coronavirus-induced disease had led to diabetes-related ailments or not.

Dr Upali Nanda, Head Preventive Health and Consultant, Medicine at Medeor Hospital said, "We are seeing that people are coming forward. Covid-19 and diabetes have a bi-directional relationship we can say now. Bi-directional because on the one hand diabetes is associated with a risk of severe Covid-19 and on the other Covid-19 can lead to diabetes and the complications of diabetes."

She said that they are looking at patients who have recovered from Covid-19 and had no history of diabetes before. "It could also be that they have never checked their sugar before. Patients are coming with raised blood sugar. Probably these people had diabetes and were not aware of it. And after suffering from COVID-19 when everyone is checking how they have improved these things are coming out. But it is actually due to Covid-19 or they already had it, still needs to be determined," she added.

Speaking about an international project that involves India as well, Dr Nanda talked about "COVID-19 diab". "We are establishing a global registry of the patients with Covid-19 related diabetes," she added.

The Registry is accepting data on new diabetes from major centres around the world including the USA, UK, Brazil, India and Africa where the pandemic is at its height. This registry is specifically designed to establish the extent and characteristics of new-onset, COVID-19-related diabetes, and to investigate its pathogenesis, management and outcomes. The Registry also collects data about presentations with severe metabolic disturbance in pre-existing diabetes.

Dr Pradeep Kawatra, Diabetologist at Apollo Spectra Hospital told Millennium Post that Covid-19 poses double trouble because of the bidirectional relationship between virus and diabetes.

"It is already evident from the data that COVID19 may be more severe in diabetics and the infection can lead to undesirable consequences. However, it is being observed that after COVID19, many people have been detected with insulin resistance and diabetes. The exact effect of this virus on glucose metabolism remains unclear, but a few COVID-19 patients seem to have spontaneously developed diabetes and arrive at hospitals with high sugar levels," he said.