- A Brazilian study found that people with diabetes recovered more slowly after hospitalisation with COVID-19.
- They had higher rates of cardiovascular complications, frailty, falls and poorer quality of life seven months after discharge.
- The findings suggest people with diabetes may need longer and more structured follow-up after COVID-19.
Diabetes was already known to increase the risk of severe acute COVID-19.
A new study suggests its impact may continue long after discharge from hospital.
Researchers at the University of São Paulo followed 870 people for up to seven months after COVID-19 hospitalisation.
The group included 320 patients with diabetes and 550 without.
Seven months after discharge, people with diabetes were less likely to report full recovery.
Among those without diabetes, 94.3% reported full recovery.
Among those with diabetes, the figure was 89.8%.
That difference may look modest, but the wider pattern was more concerning.
People with diabetes had a higher risk of cardiovascular complications such as heart attack and angina.
They also had greater frailty, more falls and poorer quality of life.
Mobility was particularly affected.
Twenty-one percent of patients with diabetes reported falls after discharge, compared with 11.1% of those without diabetes.
The researchers suggest several mechanisms may be involved.
Diabetes is associated with chronic inflammation, vascular stress and metabolic dysfunction.
COVID-19 adds another inflammatory hit.
Together, they may place extra strain on the heart, muscles and recovery systems.
Hospital stays were also longer among people with diabetes.
That can worsen muscle loss and make it harder to regain independence.
The study also found that 7.3% of participants without diabetes developed diabetes after COVID-19 infection.
That does not prove the virus directly caused it.
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The infection may have revealed pre-existing risk, or the pandemic environment may have worsened diet, stress, inactivity and weight gain.
Still, the finding deserves attention.
For people with diabetes, the message is that recovery from COVID-19 may need more than a discharge letter and a few weeks of rest.
Cardiovascular health, mobility, frailty, glucose control and quality of life all need monitoring.
Long COVID care should not treat diabetes as background noise.
It may be one of the factors shaping who struggles to recover fully.
