Unvaccinated people who are not diabetic can develop diabetes because they have contracted the coronavirus. On the other hand, after mRNA vaccinations, according to the studies so far, there may be some temporary, but not serious effects in patients with diabetes. This is stated in a new post on Facebook by Professor of Health Policy, Elias Mosialos, of the Imperial College and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), who summarizes what is known so far regarding the possible effects of both Covid- 19 as well as vaccines in relation to diabetes.
As he points out, coronavirus infection is associated with worsening of diabetes symptoms and people with diabetes are at increased risk for severe Covid-19.
There is no biological evidence yet that coronavirus directly causes diabetes, which is not currently proven, but there are many studies that quantify the risk of getting diabetes if you get it.
There is not yet enough data on whether people with diabetes are more likely to develop Covid-19 than the general population. People with diabetes are more likely to have worse complications if they catch it, not more likely to catch the virus. Also, the more diseases one has (for example, diabetes plus heart disease, plus older age) the greater the risk of developing serious complications due to Covid-19.
According to Mosialos, from the beginning of the pandemic, based on clinical and epidemiological data, the risk of serious coronavirus disease associated with high blood sugar had been recorded. Also, the very serious illness associated with high blood sugar seemed to be valid regardless of whether the patient had pneumonia. That is, an increase in blood sugar may have increased the risk of death, regardless of the patient’s respiratory distress after illness.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also reports that people of any age with certain underlying medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, are at increased risk for serious Covid-19 disease. According to the CDC, people with type 1 diabetes or gestational diabetes may be at increased risk for severe Covid-19.
Evidence from England also shows that people who were treated for coronavirus were one and a half times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes after recovering than people of the same age and medical history who were not treated for the virus. A follow-up study of ex-patients showed that of the 47,000 people who were hospitalized for coronavirus before August 2020 and recovered, 5% developed diabetes in the next seven months.
Also, results from studies in other countries lead experts to conclude that those who are treated for a very serious or critical illness, may have a rate of 30% -50% in the future. Also, children who get stuck may have an increased risk of developing diabetes, according to a recent study released by the CDC. The study included more than 2.5 million patients under the age of 18, and according to the CDC, those who recovered from Covid-19 were 2.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes a month or more after infection.
Regarding the impact of vaccines on diabetics, Mr. Mosialos states that an ongoing clinical study will answer relevant questions. The COVAC-DM clinical trial from Austria showed that vaccination with Covid-19 mRNA vaccines alone did not change the picture of glycemic control in people with diabetes. It also showed that on days when patients experienced some side effects after vaccination, a worsening of glycaemia was observed in patients with type 1 diabetes. Health professionals should be aware of this and inform their patients about possible glycemic responses after the vaccination against Covid-19.
He also points out that there are some reports, which refer to a small sample of patients with type 1 diabetes, who show temporary instability of blood glucose levels after vaccination, which normally subsides in a few days. This transient effect is more pronounced in patients taking oral hypoglycaemic drugs plus insulin when glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is lower, and in older patients.
As he states, “the risk if a diabetic does not get the vaccine is significant. Also important is the risk of developing chronic problems, such as diabetes, if you get stuck and the disease is severe. This is the big picture of the effects of this disease. But we also know that whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, prediabetes or gestational diabetes, Covid-19 vaccines are safe. With regard to mRNA vaccines so far, studies explain that there may be some temporary but not serious effects in patients with diabetes. However, there are ongoing clinical studies that will give us more information about the timing and the biological mechanism. I repeat, perhaps, the most important point here: people who do not have diabetes can get diabetes because they have contracted the coronavirus. That is, we are talking about healthy people who will have a chronic problem because they did not get the vaccine. And I wonder: why risk having a chronic health problem?
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