The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Introduction: The rapid spread of the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the infection, severe disease and death of millions of people worldwide. Fear of infection and severe disease and pandemic containment measures such as quarantine changed the daily habits of citizens with negative effects on the physical and mental health of them. Aim: The aim of this study was to document the changes in the daily life habits of citizens of a provincial city during the Covid-19 pandemic period, which habits are associated with the development of diabetes. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional was conducted using a questionnaire constructed after a literature review and distributed in paper and electronic form (google forms). Snowball sampling was used. Results: The study sample consisted of 170 adult citizens (age >18 years). Results showed that habits that changed during the pandemic and were associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes were coffee consumption (increase), sleep duration (decrease), physical activity (decrease in duration), smoking (increase), duration of mobile phone use (use) and stress level (increase). It was also found that better health habits during the pandemic period were associated with better health status of participants (p=0.008). Conclusions: People's daily habits were modified during the pandemic by both fear of the disease and restrictive protective measures. These changes are associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes and appropriate preventive measures should be promoted when designing health policies.

Keywords: Diabetes, quarantine, protective measures, pandemic, habits, COVID-19