A new study published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) finds that two common herpesviruses may contribute to impaired glucose metabolism and an increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) among infected individuals. The research was conducted by Dr. Tim Woelfle at Ludwig-Maximilians University and Helmholtz Munich, Germany, and colleagues.

Herpesviruses are one of the most prevalent viruses in humans, with eight types currently known: herpes simplex viruses (HSV) 1 and 2, varicella-zoster virus (VZV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and human herpesviruses (HHV) 6, 7 and 8. All of them cause lifelong latent infections in their hosts after an initial, usually mild or asymptomatic primary infection.

T2D is one of the most widespread and important metabolic diseases with an estimated 9.3% of the world’s population having the condition as of 2019, exerting a high mortality burden primarily due to resultant cardiovascular disease. There are many known behavioral, environmental, and genetic risk factors for T2D but until recently, viruses had only been proposed as playing a role in the development of type 1 diabetes, in which the pancreas stops producing enough insulin.

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