While no medically recognized treatment exists for Long COVID, exercise may break the vicious cycle of inflammation that can lead to developing diabetes and depression months after a person recovers from the virus.
“We know that Long COVID causes depression, and we know that it can increase blood glucose levels to the point where people develop diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening condition common among people with type 1 diabetes,” said Candida Rebello, Ph.D., a research scientist at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. “Exercise can help. Exercise takes care of the inflammation that leads to elevated blood glucose and the development and progression of diabetes and clinical depression.”
It’s unclear how many people suffer from Long COVID, but estimates range from 15 to 80 percent of the people infected. Based on those figures, it’s possible that as many as one million of Louisiana’s residents suffer from Long COVID.
Learn more about exercises that can help with Long COVID.