Health impact of seven herpesviruses on (pre)diabetes incidence and HbA1c: results from the KORA cohort – published online 11/05/2022

Tim Woelfle, Birgit Linkohr, Tim Waterboer, Barbara Thorand, Jochen Seissler, Marc Chadeau-Hyam, Annette Peters

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the link between viral infections and non-communicable diseases has once again become apparent. In this issue, Woelfle et al (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-022-05704-7) investigate the link between herpesvirus seroprevalence and the development of type 2 diabetes. The authors applied multiplex antibody assays and saw high co-occurrence of herpesviruses in this population-based study, where individuals exhibited antibodies against an average of four out of seven examined herpesviruses. Herpes simplex virus 2 increased the risk of (pre)diabetes incidence by more than 50% and cytomegalovirus by more than 30%. Many other factors such as age increase both the risk for viral infection and the risk for (pre)diabetes development. However, the authors report that the results were robust when they adjusted for potential confounders. The authors conclude that these findings highlight the need to better understand the link between asymptomatic viral infections and metabolic diseases and call for viral prevention strategies, potentially including the development of effective vaccines against herpesviruses.

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