Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, chief scientific and medical officer at the American Diabetes Association, shares his thoughts on long COVID-19 among those with type 2 diabetes and the rise of new-onset cases of type 1 diabetes throughout the pandemic.
Early data showing that type 2 diabetes may be a risk factor for long COVID-19 are very concerning, said Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, chief scientific and medical officer at the American Diabetes Association.
Transcript
Research shows type 2 diabetes may influence the likelihood of developing long COVID-19. What are your thoughts on this and have you seen it occur?
Long COVID-19 is really yet one more concerning aspect of the pandemic. We are seeing more and more cases. I certainly have had, in my practice, I see patients that continue to have a variety of constellation of symptoms. Sometimes that's hard to sort out, was that related to COVID-19 or people develop other conditions? And [the] temporal relationship often has people considering that that’s related to their COVID-19 infection. There is some early data suggesting that type 2 diabetes may be one of the risk factors for long COVID-19, and that’s very concerning.
Several studies have documented a rise in type 1 diabetes during the pandemic. What do you think accounts for this?
The American Diabetes Association funded a series of research grants as the pandemic was beginning, and a couple of those projects were looking at the ability of COVID-19 virus to infect beta cells. It may be that by direct attacking the beta cells, insulin-producing cells, that is leading to the development of type 1 diabetes, because there was a recent CDC report that followed other reports that have been out there of new cases of type 1 diabetes developing in children as a result of COVID-19 infection.
Food Insecurity Associated With Increased Long COVID Risk, Lower Recovery Rates
September 10th 2025Adults with food insecurity report higher rates of long COVID and lower recovery, with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation and employment status affecting these associations.
Read More
Infertility Coverage Boosts ART Use and Pregnancy Success: Richard A. Brook, MS, MBA
August 26th 2025In this episode, Richard A. Brook, MS, MBA, discusses his study showing that infertility treatment coverage increases assisted reproductive technology (ART) use and improves pregnancy outcomes.
Listen