COVID-19 may trigger diabetes in otherwise healthy people

COVID-19 is not just a risk for people with diabetes – it may actually cause diabetes.

Sufficient evidence suggests that the coronaviruses may attack the islet cells of the pancreas and cause a form of acute onset diabetes similar to Type 1 diabetes, even in otherwise healthy people.

However, the evidence also suggests this form of diabetes can be resolved over sufficient time in most people.

It should go without saying that the best prevention is to get and stay healthy to give your body a good chance to defend itself.

Hamilton-Shield, Julian, Doctors Warn COVID-19 May Trigger Diabetes in Otherwise Healthy People, The Conversation, 19 June 2020, https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-could-trigger-diabetes-in-previously-healthy-people-140886

Rubino, Francesco, M.D., Amiel, Stephanie, M.D., and Zimmet, Paul, M.D., et. al., New-Onset Diabetes in Covid-19, The New England Journal of Medicine, 12 June 2020, https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2018688