COVID-19 has been linked to a significant increase in type 1 diabetes in children – up to 72%

According to a new study that analyzed the electronic health records of more than 1 million patients aged 18 and under, children who were at much
higher risk of contracting type 1 diabetes (T1D) with novel coronavirus pneumonia.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine report that children and adolescents infected with COVID-19 are more likely to develop T1D
within 6 months of diagnosis.

Type 1 diabetes was previously known as insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes
.

"Type 1 diabetes is considered an autoimmune disease," said Pamela Davis, the study's corresponding author, who is also a Distinguished University Professor at Case Western Reserve Medical School and a research professor
at Arline H.

The research team analyzed the unidentified electronic health records
of nearly 1.

The study population was further divided into two groups: patients under 9 years of age and patients aged 10-18 years
.

Results of the study

In more than 571,000 pediatric patients, the researchers found:

• Within 6 months of SARS-CoV2 infection, 123 patients (0.

  
  

• At 1, 3, and 6 months after infection, SARS-CoV2 infected people are at much
  greater risk of diagnosing T1D than in patients with non-COVID respiratory infections.

  
  

"Families with children at high risk of developing type 1 diabetes should be particularly vigilant for symptoms of diabetes following COVID, and pediatricians should be wary of the influx of new cases of type 1 diabetes, especially since the omegalon variant of COVID spreads so rapidly
among children," Davis said.

Corresponding author Xu Rong, a professor of biomedical informatics at the School of Medicine and director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence in Drug Development, said further research is needed to investigate whether the increased risk of new T1D in vulnerable children after SARS-CoV2 infection persists, and how to treat COVID-19-related T1D
in children.

Professor Xu said: "We are also studying the possible changes
in the development of type 2 diabetes in children after SARS-CoV2 infection.

T1D is most common in children, and type 2 diabetes (T2D) is known as "adult-onset diabetes" and develops over time, usually when a patient becomes resistant to the effects of insulin, and then when the pancreas stops making enough insulin, according to the Centers for
Disease Control.

Association of SARS-CoV-2 Infection With New-Onset Type 1 Diabetes Among Pediatric Patients From 2020 to 2021" by Ellen K.