Prospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Jun 15, 2025; 16(6): 105447
Published online Jun 15, 2025. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i6.105447
Longitudinal effects of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination on metabolic biomarkers in type 2 diabetes mellitus in Ethiopia
Chala Kenenisa Edae, Abdisa Tufa Bedada, Maria Degef Teklemariam, Tibebu Girma, Solomon Genet Gebre
Chala Kenenisa Edae, Abdisa Tufa Bedada, Maria Degef Teklemariam, Solomon Genet Gebre, Department of Biochemistry, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa 9086, Ethiopia
Tibebu Girma, Department of Laboratory, Adama Public Health Referral Laboratory and Research Center, Adama 688, Ethiopia
Author contributions: Edae CK, Bedada AT, Teklemariam MD, Girma T, and Gebre SG conceptualized the study, designed the methodology, and performed the formal analysis; All authors were involved in data curation, validation, resource provision, and project supervision; contributed to reviewing and editing the manuscript; and collectively discussed the results and collaborated on the final version of the manuscript; All authors have reviewed and approved the submitted version, taking full responsibility for their contributions and the integrity of the work, ensuring that any issues regarding accuracy or reliability are resolved.
Institutional review board statement: The work was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences (Protocol No. 019/23/biochemistry) and the National Research Ethics Review Committee (Ref No: 17/152/235/24). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants, and the study adhered to the principles described in the Declaration of Helsinki.
Clinical trial registration statement: This study does not involve a clinical trial and, therefore, does not require registration.
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardian provided informed written consent about personal and medical data collection prior to study enrolment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Solomon Genet Gebre, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Addis Ababa University, Churchil road, Addis Ababa 9086, Ethiopia. solgen73@yahoo.com
Received: January 23, 2025
Revised: March 30, 2025
Accepted: May 15, 2025
Published online: June 15, 2025
Processing time: 142 Days and 6.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disproportionately impacted individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), increasing their risk of severe illness and mortality. Vaccination has been a crucial intervention in mitigating these risks. However, the metabolic effects of COVID-19 vaccination, particularly the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine, in diabetic populations remain inadequately explored. This study investigated the longitudinal effects of the J&J vaccine on lipid and eicosanoid biomarkers to assess its metabolic safety and potential cardiovascular benefits.

AIM

To evaluate the long-term impact of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine on lipid and eicosanoid biomarkers in Ethiopian patients with T2DM.

METHODS

This prospective cohort study was conducted at Adama Hospital Medical College (Oromia, Ethiopia) from May 2023 to June 2024. A total of 224 T2DM patients (57 vaccinated, 167 unvaccinated) were monitored for 1 year. Biomarkers including triglycerides (TGs), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total cholesterol (TC), prostaglandins (PGs), and thromboxanes (TXs) were measured at baseline and at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year post-vaccination. Statistical analyses included Generalized Estimating Equations to assess longitudinal biomarker changes.

RESULTS

TG and PG levels remained stable across all time points. HDL levels showed a temporary decline at 3 months (mean difference [MD] = -4.33; P < 0.001) and 6 months (MD = -2.62; P < 0.001) but recovered by 9 months (MD = 2.09; P = 0.001) and 1 year (MD = 2.38; P < 0.001). TC exhibited a significant decrease at 3 months (MD = -16.44, P = 0.001) before stabilizing. TX levels showed a consistent decline across all follow-ups (e.g., 1 year: MD = -0.08; P = 0.036), suggesting a reduced thrombotic risk. Correlation analysis indicated significant interrelations among biomarkers, emphasizing their roles in metabolic and inflammatory pathways.

CONCLUSION

The J&J COVID-19 vaccine exhibited metabolic safety in patients with T2DM, with transient HDL and TC reductions that later stabilized and a sustained TX decline, suggesting potential cardiovascular benefits. Further studies are needed to explore long-term immunometabolic effects on high-risk populations.

Keywords: Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine; Metabolic indices; Lipid biomarkers; Eicosanoids; Longitudinal study

Core Tip: This cohort study assessed the long-term effects of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine on metabolic markers in Ethiopian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Key findings include temporary drops in high-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol levels post-vaccination, followed by recovery, whereas thromboxane levels showed lasting reductions, indicating potential thrombosis protection. The stability of triglycerides and prostaglandins underscores the vaccine's metabolic safety. These results contribute to understanding the vaccine's metabolic effects and highlight its safety and possible cardiovascular benefits for high-risk diabetic individuals.