A study recently published in the journal JAMA Network Open demonstrated a 72% increase in new type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnoses in younger COVID-19 patients six months after the viral infection but was not sure whether COVID-19 causes a new onset of T1D.

The researchers evaluated the de-identified electronic health data of over 1.1 million individuals aged 18 years or younger who had been diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the US and 13 other countries between March 2020 and December 2021. The patients also included those infected with some other respiratory disease within that time frame.

Results showed that 123 people were newly diagnosed with T1D within six months of contracting SARS-CoV2, compared to 72 patients who had received a new diagnosis after contracting a non-COVID respiratory illness. This is a 72% increase in new diagnoses.

According to the researchers, SARS-CoV-2 infection significantly increased the chance of T1D diagnosis at one, three, and six months after infection compared to non-COVID respiratory infections. They also stated that pediatric patients ranging from infants to 9 years old and 10 to 18 years old had similar outcomes.

Hence experts advised families at high risk of developing type 1 diabetes in their children to be especially vigilant for symptoms of diabetes following COVID and emphasized that pediatricians should be carefully monitor the inflow of T1D new cases as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly among children.

Source: https://theprint.in/world/covid-19-linked-with-higher-risk-of-type-1-diabetes-in-young-people-study/1143475/