A study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology reported that the risk of developing diabetes was more in those who were infected with COVID.

The cohort study included data from the national databases of the US Department of Veterans Affairs and enrolled 181 280 participants who had a positive COVID-19 test from March 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021, and compared the risk of developing diabetes with control group who had no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. 

In the post-acute phase of the disease, people with COVID-19 showed a 40% increased risk for incident diabetes compared to a contemporary control group. Over 12 months, they also had a significantly higher excess burden of new diabetes (13.46 excess cases of diabetes per 1,000 people, 95% CI 12.11-14.84). There was an 85% higher risk of requiring a new antihyperglycemic agent following infection compared with controls (HR 1.85, 95% CI 1.78-1.92), and an excess burden of incident antihyperglycemic use (12•35, 11•36–13•38). Some of the factors which increased the risk for developing diabetes after infection included age more than 65 years, Black race, body mass index (BMI) 25-30 or above 30, and having cardiovascular disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or prediabetes.(MedPage Today, March 22; Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, March 21, 2022)