In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers stated it was “plausible” that COVID-19’s effects on the body’s ability to metabolize glucose could either complicate existing insulin levels or create new issues, leading to the onset of diabetes.

Although some patients already had diabetes and were unaware of it until they were hospitalized for COVID-19, evidence also suggests that COVID-19 might be enough to worsen existing metabolic health issues into full-blown type 2 diabetes according to  Dr. Jose Aleman, assistant professor of endocrinology at NYU Langone Health reports Insider.

“Stressful conditions lead to elevated levels of regulatory hormones that raise blood sugar to aid the body in fighting whatever insult it’s facing, such as illness or injury,” Aleman told Insider. “For people with underlying conditions, that can be enough to kick them over the edge.”

Back in April 2020, doctors in Wuhan, China first reported a link between COVID-19 and elevated blood sugar levels.

More than 34 million people in the United States have diabetes, and 1 in 5 of them don’t know they have it according to the Centers for Diabetes Control and Prevention.  More than 88 million US adults—over a third—have prediabetes, and more than 84% of them don’t know they have it.

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