COVID’s not-so sweet spot
You can’t sugar rush your way to diabetes, but COVID-19 could fast track that. (Photo: lainetrees via Flickr)
We get it: There’s nothing good about getting COVID-19. This week, we’re exploring its not-so sweet link to type 2 diabetes and why touching grass—literally and figuratively—could benefit us tons.
More studies prove two-way link of COVID and diabetes
People are now at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes after getting COVID-19, new studies reiterate last week.
No, you didn’t read that wrong. Diabetes still does predispose one to more severe COVID, but now it’s been proven to work vice versa and—don’t panic—this includes 28% of mild cases too.
Experts call this link “bidirectional.” Us laymen call it, “Seriously?”
The first of the studies showed COVID patients were 40% more likely to discover they had diabetes versus people who didn’t get the virus. That’s about 13.5 extra cases of diabetes per 1,000 COVID patients.
“The risks were evident even in people who had a low risk of diabetes before COVID,” said study co-author Ziyad Al-Aly. Of course, the more severe the case, the more likely new diabetes was to be diagnosed.
Type 2 is the more common form of diabetes linked to obesity. It also usually develops gradually. It is yet to be proven if diabetes after mild COVID is just temporary and can be reversed. If not, that’s all the more reason for people to get screened for diabetes even after a mild bout of COVID. With risk on the rise for those 18 below as well, it’s better to just avoid COVID and too much carbs and stress, period.
What’s the deal?
A number of possible causes have been singled out over the past two years based on previous papers.
Some experts blame the increased viral load on the pancreas which messes up insulin production and in effect, the blood sugar regulation. Others, on metabolic changes due to the virus’s impact on fat cells.
Jason Block, an associate professor of population medicine at Harvard Medical School, links it to two more factors. First, people are paying attention to their health and getting consulted more, helping reveal any conditions that might not have been diagnosed before. Steroid medications for inflammation caused by COVID could also raise blood sugar levels, leading to a diabetes diagnosis.
A potential remedy
In the Philippines, diabetes was the fifth leading cause of death, accounting for 6.3% of deaths in 2021. COVID-19 came in at third, causing 9.6% of deaths.
For the longest time, physical activity has been a favorite cure-all for diseases like these. Local calls for more public, outdoor spaces to give people a chance to go out and get some exercise have been highlighted in the pandemic. Don’t forget more bike lanes too.
While COVID-19, rising gas prices, and other recent events have not been the best for our wellbeing, it pays to make room for sweet spots (not the edible kind) in the midst of the doom and gloom. To many, this could mean staying healthy together with loved ones for all its proven benefits.
With case rates at an all-time low since the start of the year, it implies that maybe you can have friends and still avoid COVID at the same time.
