Researchers analyzed 33 existing studies to understand how often adults develop new diabetes after having COVID-19. They looked at data from adults aged 18 and older who had been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The studies tracked people for different lengths of time after their infection.
The analysis found that about 8.3% of adults in these studies were diagnosed with new diabetes after COVID-19. When looking at specific types, about 8.9% developed type 2 diabetes and about 0.86% developed type 1 diabetes. The studies did not report specific safety concerns related to this finding.
It's important to be careful with these results because this was a meta-analysis of observational studies, which cannot prove that COVID-19 causes diabetes. The studies included were very different from each other, making it hard to draw firm conclusions. The analysis also found no clear relationship between diabetes risk and factors like age, sex, or how long people were followed.
Readers should understand that this research shows a link between COVID-19 infection and diabetes diagnosis, but more studies are needed to understand why this happens. The results come from combining many different types of research, so the exact risk may vary for different people.