EDITORIAL ¿Diabetes post COVID-19?

Abstract

The appearance of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in patients who have suffered from COVID-19 could be added, if confirmed by subsequent studies, to the long list of consequences caused by this pandemic. Likewise, the impact of COVID-19 on the endocrine system is poorly studied. Previous coronavirus outbreaks, as well as other previously reported viral infections, have been associated with new-onset DM. However, there is little research in this regard and the question arises again as to how viruses can contribute to the onset of the disease or if they modify factors that ultimately trigger the lack of control of blood glucose, together with insulin resistance (IR). The recent COVID-19 pandemic has made it abundantly clear that DM increases the risk of more frequent and severe viral infections. At the same time, proinflammatory cytokines promote IR and constitute a risk factor for the development of DM. This raises the existence of a reciprocal and harmful interaction between the immune and endocrine systems in the context of DM. It is not clear why these two systems would interact by inducing transient changes in systemic metabolism as a strategy against viral infection. In people with DM, this system fails, negatively affecting the antiviral immune response. In addition, immune-mediated changes in systemic metabolism after infection may worsen glycemic control, laying the groundwork for future research.