According to a new study,children who had COVID-19 are at a substantially higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
According to a new research study that analyzed electronic health records of more than 1 million patients ages 18 and younger, children who were infected with
Type 1 diabetes was previously known as insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes. Although it usually develops in children, teens, and young adults, it can happen at any age. Type 1 diabetes is much less common than type 2. In fact, only about 5-10% of people with diabetes have type 1. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes, but it can be treated successfully.
Nationally, approximately 187,000 children and adolescents younger than 20 live with T1D, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Type 1 diabetes is considered an autoimmune disease,” said Pamela Davis. She is a corresponding author on the study and Distinguished University Professor and The Arline H. and Curtis F. Garvin Research Professor at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. “It occurs mostly because the body’s immune defenses attack the cells that produce insulin, thereby stopping insulin production and causing the disease. COVID has been suggested to increase autoimmune responses, and our present finding reinforces that suggestion.”
The team of researchers analyzed the de-identified electronic health records of nearly 1.1 million patients aged 18 years and younger diagnosed with the DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.33014
The Case Western Reserve research team also included David Kaelber, professor of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, and medical students Ellen Kendall and Veronica Olaker.
Read More: COVID-19 Linked With Substantial Increase in Type 1 Diabetes in Children – As Much as 72%
