Endocrine disorders in the background of COVID-19 and postcovid syndrome

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the 2019 new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge to the global health system and scientific community. As of this literature review, the infection has claimed more than 6 million lives, and more than 500 million people worldwide have already been infected with SARS-CoV-2. In addition to the basic, pulmonary manifestations of the disease, as well as the severe, life-threatening complications of acute COVID-19, the long-term changes that occur in the postcovid period also affect other systems: endocrine, cardiovascular, nervous, and musculoskeletal. In this literature review, using data from current scientific publications obtained by searching «covid-19 endocrine disorders», «postcovid endocrine disorders» and «postcovid syndrome endocrine disorders» in the MEDLINE (PubMed) database and «endocrine pathology and covid-19», «postcovid and endocrine pathology» and «postcovid syndrome and endocrine disorders» in the e-Library database, we focused on describing and discussing the complications and consequences that SARS-CoV-2 infection can have on the endocrine glands, including the adrenals, thyroid, pituitary, gonads and pancreas.