Covid likely to increase risk of diabetes in children: study

This study is by Hanne Lovdal Gulseth and Dr German Tapia, and colleagues at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.

In this study, during a two-year period beginning March 1, 2020, the National Health Register was used to examine new-onset type 1 diabetes diagnoses among all young people under the age of 18 in Norway (more than 1.2 million people). and compared those who signed up. COVID-19 with those who did not.

“Our national study suggests a possible link between Covid-19 and new-onset type 1 diabetes,” said lead author Hanne, director of research at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. “However, the absolute risk of developing type 1 diabetes remains low, increasing from 0.08% to 0.13%. However, clinicians are aware of the signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes. Constant thirst, frequent urination, extreme fatigue, and unexpected weight loss are obvious symptoms.

Type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed at a young age, is associated with inadequate pancreatic insulin production and has long been suspected to be the result of an overactive immune response due to viral infections involving the respiratory system. virus.

Several recent case reports have suggested an association between new-onset type 1 diabetes and SARS-CoV-2 infection in adults. However, the evidence is more limited in children. A recent CDC report found that U.S. children were 2.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes after SARS-CoV-2 infection, but that was a sum of all types of diabetes, I didn’t consider other health conditions that could raise blood sugar. level, race or ethnicity, obesity, and other social determinants of health that may influence a child’s risk of contracting her COVID-19 or diabetes.

In this national study, Gulseth and colleagues linked individual-level data from the National Health Register of all Norwegian children and adolescents (1,202,174). Data are taken from a Norwegian reserve register updated daily with individual-level data on PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, Covid-19 vaccination, and disease diagnoses from primary and secondary health services. I was.

Children were followed from 1 March 2020 (beginning of the pandemic) until diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, turning 18 years of age, death, or termination of the study (1 March 2022), whichever came first. rice field.

Researchers examined the risk of new-onset type 1 diabetes in adolescents within 30 days or later of PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV2 infection. They compared this group to a group of children and adolescents from the general population who had no registered infection and children who were tested but found to be virus-negative.

Over the two-year study period, a total of 424,354 children tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection, and of the 1.2 million children and adolescents included in the study, 990 had new-onset type 1 diabetes. Diagnosed.

After adjusting for age, gender, country of origin, geographic region, and socioeconomic factors, the analysis found that adolescents infected with COVID-19 had an approximately 60% chance of developing type 1 diabetes 30 days or more after infection. It turned out to be expensive. Infected persons who are not registered or who have tested negative for the virus (see chart in full summary).

“The exact reasons for the increased risk of type 1 diabetes among adolescents after COVID-19 are not yet fully understood, and with longer follow-up, risks may differ in children infected with different subspecies. We need more research to see if there is sex,” says Garces.

“Treatment delays due to the pandemic may partly explain the rise in new cases. It may lead to the development of type 1 diabetes.It is also possible that the inflammation caused by the virus leads to exacerbation of pre-existing autoimmunity.

The authors acknowledge that this study is observational and does not prove cause and effect, and that other unmeasured factors (such as underlying conditions) or missing data may be relevant. We cannot rule out the possibility that it influenced the results. They also noted that only children with PCR testing, not lateral flow testing or asymptomatic infections, were included in the analysis, which may limit the conclusions that can be drawn. increase.

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