Diabetes, Hypertension, and Discovery May Be Caused by Long Covid

Diabetes and hypertension cases increased following Covid infection.

Getting a shot after an infection may help to reverse long-term Covid symptoms.

According to a study conducted by South Africa's largest health insurer, people who've had Covid infection are more prone to be hospitalised or to develop hypertension or diabetes or in the months following their illness, indicating the intensity of so-called long Covid.

Members in Discovery Health Ltd. were much more likely to seek healthcare for the 2 chronic diseases after being watched for about a year since contracting Covid-19, according to Discovery's chief health analytics actuary, Shirley Collie, in an interview. According to her, the likelihood of being hospitalised for any cause increased by 10 percent to 20 percent. Regardless, the risk of death is not increased. Discovery has approximately 3.7 million followers.

"We don't see any increased risk of mortality in the recovered population," said she. "That's very reassuring."

"The data also show a higher risk of registering for diabetes, receiving a diabetes diagnosis, and being diagnosed with hypertension," the researcher says. "In terms of the higher risk," she explained, "that is quite noticeable."

Long Covid, a condition in which many people with minor infections experience a variety of symptoms for months after their illness, has perplexed medical researchers worldwide. Covid-19 has caused long-term health problems in one out of every five Americans, according to a report released last month in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A survey of 7,000 individuals of Discovery Health who had recovered from acute Covid-19 yielded the following results:

Diabetes is 1.38 times more likely to develop two to twelve months after Covid-19 treatment.

There was a 1.11-fold increase in the risk of developing hypertension during that time period.

After recovering from acute Covid infection, there is a 2.8-fold increase in hospitalisation, and a 1.5-fold increase two to twelve months later.

Thirty-one percent of those who recovered from Covid-19 had headaches, fourteen percent had trouble sleeping and shortness of breath, twelve percent had dizziness, eleven percent had difficulty concentrating, and ten percent had muscle and joint pain.

43 percent of those polled reported difficulty with daily living activities. Thirty percent had difficulty concentrating, twenty percent had difficulty walking, sixteen percent had difficulty seeing, and others had difficulty hearing, communicating, and caring for themselves.

More research is needed, according to Collie, to determine whether the increased risk of hypertension  and dibetes is due to more people seeking care and thus being diagnosed with the ailments. Her team is investigating whether the corticosteroid treatment given to some people during the acute phase of Covid-19 affects the outcomes.

Many of these issues, she claims, can be avoided by getting vaccinated against Covid-19.

"We don't see this long-term trend if you've a vaccine before your Covid-19 infection," she said. "For people who've not been vaccinated at the time of their infection and then get vaccinated, we see a near-reversion to the population rate."