Doctors are being urged to monitor for heart problems and diabetes in patients soon after they have had COVID.
It follows a British study which found the risk of heart diseases and diabetes spike after a COVID infection, particularly in the first three months.
The study of the health data of almost a million British people, half of whom had the virus, found that COVID patients had 81% more diagnoses of diabetes in the first four weeks after getting sick.
The diabetes risk stayed elevated by 27% for up to 12 weeks after their infection.
Getting COVID was also linked to a six-fold increase in cardiovascular diagnoses overall, mainly due to the development of blood clots in the lungs and irregular heartbeat.
Risks not long-term
Fortunately, there did not appear to be a long-term increase in the rate of these conditions for people who did not have them prior to getting COVID.
The study results from the King’s College London and the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre in the UK were published this week in PLOS Medicine.
It comes as scientists are increasingly recognising COVID-19 as a multi-system condition that can cause disease throughout the body, likely by triggering pathways that cause inflammation.
The UK researchers investigated whether a sample of COVID patients developed new cases of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at higher rates in the year following their infection compared a sample of people who had never had COVID.
They analysed medical records from more than 428,000 COVID patients, and the same number of control individuals, matched by age, sex, and family practice.
It showed that COVID patients had 81% more diagnoses of diabetes in the first four weeks after contracting the virus and that their risk remained elevated by 27% for up to 12 weeks after infection.
COVID was associated with a six-fold increase in cardiovascular diagnoses overall, and the risk of a new heart disease diagnosis began to decline five weeks after infection and returned to baseline levels or lower within 12 weeks to one year.
The researchers concluded that while COVID infection was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disorders and diabetes, there did not appear to be a long-term increase in the incidence of these conditions.
Stay vigilant
But they said the information was valuable to doctors managing the millions of people who have had COVID-19 by now. It was clear that particular vigilance was required for at least the first three months after COVID infection.
Based on these findings, they recommended that doctors advise patients recovering from COVID to try to reduce their risks through a healthy diet and exercise.