▶ The risk and diagnosis of diseases such as cardiovascular and diabetes complications soared
A study found that the risk of developing diabetes or cardiovascular complications within the first 3 months of contracting COVID-19 is high.
In a study published in the international academic journal PLOS Medicine on the 19th, a research team at King’s College London in the UK found that diabetes and cardiovascular disease newly developed after infection with the Corona 19 virus and the disease in the year of Corona 19. They compared people who had never been caught.
To this end, 1,356 COVID-19-related studies conducted in the UK for 13.4 million people from 2020 to 2021 were analyzed. Among them, 428,650 COVID-19 patients without diabetes or cardiovascular disease and 428,650 COVID-19 patients who developed the disease were selected and observed and analyzed until January 2022.
As a result of the analysis, among COVID-19 patients who developed diabetes, the risk of being diagnosed with diabetes within 12 weeks of infection increased by 27% compared to the risk of being diagnosed with diabetes in general. The risk of developing diabetes was 81% higher, especially during the first four weeks. After 12 weeks of infection, it returned to below the usual risk of diabetes diagnosis.
The risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as pulmonary embolism, cardiac arrhythmias, and venous thrombosis, was also about six times higher in the early stages of COVID-19. This is due to blood clots or irregular heartbeats that occur in the lungs or cardiovascular system during COVID-19 infection. Specifically, the risk of developing pulmonary embolism increased by about 11 times and the risk of cardiac arrhythmias increased by about 6 times during the period after infection with COVID-19. In addition, the risk of developing venous thrombosis was approximately five times greater.
The risk of newly diagnosed cardiovascular disease in COVID-19 patients began to decrease after 5 weeks of infection, and fell below the normal risk threshold from 12 weeks to 1 year.
“Using large medical records, we were able to characterize the risk of developing cardiovascular disease or diabetes after infection with COVID-19,” the research team said. “While COVID-19 patients are most exposed to these risks in the first four weeks, the risk of diabetes continues to rise for at least 12 weeks. Medical staff should advise patients recovering from COVID-19 to reduce their risk of developing diabetes with a healthy diet and exercise.”