Diabetes mellitus and systemic lupus erythematosus – the importance of covid-19 infection

Medical Review (Med. pregled), 2026, 62(1), 35-39.

N. Koleva¹, A. Kostadinova¹, D. Genov1, V. Grozeva¹, At. Kundurdjiev¹, M. Nikolova¹, V. Kotseva¹, I. Pavlova¹, I. Kalinkova¹, R. Gancheva², N. Stoilov³, V. Boyadjieva³, Y. Zdravkova³, I. Parvova⁴, J. Ananiev⁵, E. Ivanova-Todorova⁶, D. Kiurkchiev⁶, M. Petrova⁶, K. Tumangelova-Yuzeir⁶, Y. Vlahov⁷

¹Clinic of Nephrology, University Hospital Sv. Iv. Rilski, Sofia
²Clinic of Rheumatology, University Hospital Lozenetz, Sofia
³Clinic of Rheumatology, University Hospital Sv. Iv. Rilski, Sofia
⁴Clinic of Rheumatology, University Hospital Sv. Anna, Sofia
⁵Department of General and Clinical Pathology, Trakia University, Stara Zagora
⁶Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Sv. Iv. Rilski, Sofia
⁷Clinic of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, University Hospital Sofiamed, Sofia

Abstract: The association of diabetes and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been described by many authors. A large number of cases of systemic autoimmune diseases developing after COVID-19 infection have been described during the coronavirus pandemia, including in individuals with pre-existing diabetes. The authors present the clinical. Laboratory and histological characteristics of a series of 10 patients (9 female and 1 male) with SLE with biopsy-proven lupus nephritis and positive antibodies against nuclear antigens, developing after coronaviral infection at the background of preexisting type 1 or type 2 diabetes, followed up in a Nephrology period for the period 01.04.2020 – 31.03.2023 and discuss the therapeutic modalities in these patients.

Key words: coronavirus infection, systemic lupus erythematosus, lupus nephritis, diabetes mellitus, pathogenetic treatment

Address for correspondence: Assoc. Prof. Milena Nikolova, MD, e-mail: milena_i_dani@abv.bg