ACE2 and diabetes mellitus: Therefore, COVID-19 may lead to ACE1/ACE2 imbalance and increase angiotensin II levels because it activates the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and thus the progression of COVID-19, especially in patients with underlying diseases such as high blood pressure (HTN), cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes (DM) (Adamzik et al., 2007; Beyerstedt et al., 2021a).