The Department of Health (DOH) said that people who had Covid-19 face a significant risk of developing diabetes.
Based on studies, the Covid-19 virus and diabetes have a "bi-directional relationship," said DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire.
"Ibig sabihin, may malaking risk ang isang taong nagkaroon ng Covid-19 to develop diabetes (This means that a person who has had Covid-19 has a high risk of developing diabetes). And it has been found in the studies that has been done among patients," she explained in a recent media forum.
"Sabi nga nila, yun pong mga nagkakaroon ng (They said that those who had) Covid-19–survived Covid-19–exhibited a 40 percent risk of incident diabetes. Pero syempre (But of course), we do not want to generalize this also among the entire population. Ang sa atin (As for us), we need to be cautious," she added.
Vergeire said it is important for a person to know if they have a family history of diabetes.
“What would be most important would be--alam natin kung tayo ay may family history, halimbawa, ng (that we know if we have a family history, for example, of) diabetes,” she said.
“Halimbawa, meron tayong (For example, we have an) increase risk to having this disease–ang weight natin mataas. So, mas mataas na yung risk natin for diabetes, tapos pag nagkaroon pa tayo ng infection ng Covid-19, baka nadadagdagan pa yung risk natin (your weight is high. So, our risk for diabetes is higher, then if we have Covid-19 infection, our risk may increase even more),” she added.
With this, it is important for people to protect themselves against Covid-19, said the health official.
“Tayo ay magpabakuna, tayo ay gumamit ng mask kapag kailangan natin magsuot ng mask, para maiwasan ang Covid-19 (Let's get vaccinated, let's use a mask when we need to wear a mask in order to avoid Covid-19),” said Vergeire.
Based on an article in Nature, an international weekly journal of science, “people who get Covid-19 have a greater risk of developing diabetes up to a year later, even after a mild SARS-CoV-2 infection, compared with those who never had the disease.”
This study was published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, it stated, adding that it is “one of a growing number of studies showing that Covid-19 can increase a person’s risk of diabetes, months after infection.”