New evidence shows that a COVID-19 infection can increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes within a year.
The new findings were published in The Lancet.
Researchers looked at medical records of Veterans Affairs patients with coronavirus between 2020 and 2021.
Experts found that people who were diagnosed with COVID-19 were 46% more likely to develop diabetes for the first time within a year of infection.
Because patients were more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes and not Type 1, researchers believe that the cells’ reduced efficiency is caused by inflammation, an effect that has been observed before with COVID-19.
While most VA patients to be white males, researchers say they are confident the risk is high among all groups, including women, minorities and young people.