Long-Term Recovery From Post-COVID-19 Hyperglycemia: A Three-Years Follow-Up Study in Iraq

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused several health problems, including new diagnoses of diabetes mellitus and new-onset hyperglycemia. According to previous research, some individuals with COVID-19 recover from hyperglycemia. To examine the long-term outcomes and predictive parameters for recovery from new-onset hyperglycemia following COVID-19 infection over a three-year follow-up period. A prospective longitudinal cohort study was conducted involving 50 patients newly diagnosed with COVID-19 infection based on a positive RT-PCR test and lung computed tomography (CT) scan. All patients developed new-onset hyperglycemia at admission, had no previous history of diabetes mellitus, had normal recent HbA1c levels, and had not used steroids prior to diagnosis. All patients were treated with insulin and/or oral hypoglycemic agents during the period of COVID-19 infection and hyperglycemia. The study included 50 COVID-19 patients with new-onset hyperglycemia; 62% were male, 50% were young, 52% were overweight, and 36% had CT lung severity scores between 20 and 30. After 6 months, 54% of patients recovered from hyperglycemia; this rate increased to 60% after 1 year and 64% after 3 years. A higher likelihood of recovery from diabetes mellitus was observed in younger patients (P=0.003), those without a family history of diabetes mellitus (P=0.008), and those with lower CT lung severity scores (P<0.001). Most patients with new-onset hyperglycemia following COVID-19 infection recovered from diabetes mellitus, and the recovery rate progressively increased over the three-year follow-up period.