(HealthDay News) — The risk and 12-month burden of diabetes is increased for individuals in the post-acute phase of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, according to a study published online March 21 in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
Yan Xie, M.P.H., and Ziyad Al-Aly, M.D., from the VA Saint Louis Health Care System, examined the post-acute risk and burden of incident diabetes in a cohort of 181,280 individuals who had a positive COVID-19 test between March 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021, and survived the first 30 days of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared with contemporary controls (4,118,441 individuals) and historical controls (4,286,911 participants enrolled between March 1, 2018, and Sept. 30, 2019).
The researchers found that in the post-acute phase of the disease, people with COVID-19 had an increased risk for (hazard ratio, 1.40) and excess burden of incident diabetes (13.46 per 1,000 people at 12 months) compared with the contemporary control group; in addition, they had an increased risk (hazard ratio, 1.85) and excess burden (12.35 per 1,000 people) of incident antihyperglycemic use. In analyses that estimated the risk for a composite end point of incident diabetes or antihyperglycemic use, the hazard ratio was 1.46 and excess burden was 18.03 per 1,000 people at 12 months. There was an increase in a graded manner in the risks and burdens of postacute outcomes based on the severity of COVID-19. In analyses using historical controls as the reference, all results were consistent.
“Current evidence suggests that diabetes is a facet of the multifaceted long COVID syndrome and that postacute care strategies of people with COVID-19 should include identification and management of diabetes,” the authors write.
One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
