There are a lot of people who recover from COVID-19 but are considered long haulers. They have symptoms that linger. Coronavirus has been associated with a range of post-infection problems including blood clots, neurological disorders, kidney, and heart damage, and now, cases of diabetes are on the rise. Scientists aren’t sure how or why, but 14 percent of those with severe COVID symptoms developed a form of the disorder, as reported by The Washington Post.

Researchers say new-onset diabetes may soon be added to those complications— both Type 1, in which people cannot make the insulin needed to regulate their blood sugar, and Type 2, in which they make too little insulin or become resistant to their insulin, causing their blood sugar levels to rise. But scientists do not know whether covid-19 might hasten already developing problems or actually cause them — or both.

Many cases reportedly involved people who had shown no previous symptoms and had no prior diagnosis of diabetes. Some developed elevated blood sugar while in hospital care being treated for the virus, but their numbers returned to normal in time to be discharged.

The Washington Post reports that as early as January 2020, doctors in Wuhan, China, at the site of the pandemic outbreak noticed elevated blood sugar in patients with COVID-19. However, researchers continue to be mystified by the link between the virus and diabetes.