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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Virol. Jun 25, 2023; 12(3): 151-171
Published online Jun 25, 2023. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v12.i3.151
Impacts of SARS-CoV-2 on diabetes mellitus: A pre and post pandemic evaluation
A H M Nurun Nabi, Akio Ebihara, Hossain Uddin Shekhar
A H M Nurun Nabi, Hossain Uddin Shekhar, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Akio Ebihara, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu 501-1193, Japan
Author contributions: Nabi AHMN designed, reviewed literature, interpreted the data and prepared the first draft of the manuscript, Ebihara A interpreted the data and revised the manuscript, Shekhar HU conceived the idea and prepared the first draft of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
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: Hossain Uddin Shekhar, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka, Curzon Hall Street, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh. hossainshekhar@du.ac.bd
Received: December 28, 2022
Peer-review started: December 28, 2022
First decision: January 31, 2023
Revised: February 24, 2023
Accepted: April 13, 2023
Article in press: May 4, 2023
Published online: June 25, 2023
Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the novel beta coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) crippled the whole world and has resulted in large number of morbidity and mortality. The origin of the SARS-CoV-2 is still disputed. The risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 is dependent on several risk factors as observed in many studies. The severity of the disease depends on many factors including the viral strain, host immunogenetics, environmental factors, host genetics, host nutritional status and presence of comorbidities like hypertension, diabetes, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, cardiovascular disease, renal impairment. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder mainly characterized by hyperglycemia. Diabetic individuals are intrinsically prone to infections. SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with diabetes result in β-cell damage and cytokine storm. Damage to the cells impairs the equilibrium of glucose, leading to hyperglycemia. The ensuing cytokine storm causes insulin resistance, especially in the muscles and liver, which also causes a hyperglycemic state. All of these increase the severity of COVID-19. Genetics also play pivotal role in disease pathogenesis. This review article focuses from the probable sources of coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2 to its impacts on individuals with diabetes and host genetics in pre- and post-pandemic era.

Keywords: Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, Diabetes, MERS, SARS, Single nucleotide polymorphism

Core Tip: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the novel beta coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) crippled the whole world and has resulted in large number of morbidity and mortality. The origin of the SARS-CoV-2 is still disputed. The risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 is dependent on several risk factors as observed in many studies. The severity of the disease depends on many factors including the viral strain, host immunogenetics, environmental factors, host genetics, host nutritional status and presence of comorbidities like hypertension, diabetes, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, cardiovascular disease, renal impairment. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder mainly characterized by hyperglycemia. Diabetic individuals are intrinsically prone to infections. SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with diabetes result in β-cell damage and cytokine storm. Damage to the cells impairs the equilibrium of glucose, leading to hyperglycemia. The ensuing cytokine storm causes insulin resistance, especially in the muscles and liver, which also causes a hyperglycemic state. All of these increase the severity of COVID-19. Genetics also play pivotal role in disease pathogenesis. This review article focuses from the probable sources of coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2 to its impacts on individuals with diabetes and host genetics in pre- and post-pandemic era.