Study: COVID may increase risk of Type 2 diabetes

Studies are showing people who have contracted COVID may be at greater risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. However, experts still have questions about the possible connection between the two.

One theory is these individuals were already at greater risk for developing diabetes, and the virus just unmasked it.

Another factor could be more cases of diabetes are just being reported now because doctors are monitoring their COVID patients more closely.

Either way, those experts say more research is needed to better understand the connection.

“In scientific terms, what we usually say is that we have shown an association, we have not shown any causation,” said Dr. Abhijit Duggal with Cleveland Clinic. “So this is something that we are seeing that kind of goes hand in hand, but we cannot prove right now that this is the cause of diabetes itself.”

The Cleveland Clinic adds it’s difficult to say whether people who develop diabetes after COVID will have to deal with it long-term or whether it’s just temporary.