SARS-CoV-2 and diabetes: a post-pandemic reappraisal – published online 27/06/2026

Noora Said, Ian Jones, Emily K. Anderson-Baucum, Carmella Evans-Molina

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, pre-existing diabetes was identified as one of the strongest predictors of COVID-19 severity and mortality, and emerging reports of new-onset diabetes after SARS-CoV-2 infection led to speculation of a bidirectional association between COVID-19 and diabetes. In this review, Said et al (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-026-06785-4) present a post-pandemic reappraisal of clinical and experimental data, and highlight the proposed mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 infection may impact the pancreas and insulin-sensitive tissues through direct infection. The authors discuss how containment strategies during the pandemic may have indirectly increased diabetes risk, and they review key meta-analyses, epidemiological studies, prospective studies and clinical trials that explore the relationship between COVID-19 and new-onset diabetes. Finally, the authors identify remaining knowledge gaps and uncertainties regarding the impact of COVID-19 and vaccination on the development of diabetes, and highlight relationships between diabetes and long COVID that should be prioritised in future studies. The figure from this review is available as a downloadable slide.

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