A girl checks her blood sugar level with a meter (symbolic image). © IMAGO / AllaRudenko /Panthermedia
Children have a 57 percent increased risk of developing diabetes after coronavirus infection, according to a recent study.
Munich – The examination of the data of 1.1 million children insured by statutory health insurance indicates that there is a connection between a coronavirus infection and the occurrence of type 1 diabetes. This was discovered by researchers from Helmholtz Zentrum München and TU Dresden in a study published on Monday (22 May) in the medical journal Jama Network.
Increase in type 1 diabetes in children during the pandemic: Researchers investigate connection with Corona
In the autoimmune disease type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin. The hormone is needed to keep blood sugar levels constant. "Although studies had already been able to determine an increase in the incidence of type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, no distinction has yet been made between children with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection," said the study by TU Dresden and Helmholtz Zentrum München. The study by the research team led by Andreas Weiss has now investigated precisely this connection.
About the study:
Study on "Type 1 Diabetes Incidence and Risk in Children With a Diagnosis of COVID-19" by the authors Andreas Weiss, Ewan Donnachie, Andreas Beyerlein, Anette-G. Ziegler and Ezio Bonifacio from TU Dresden and Helmholtz Zentrum München, published on May 22, 2023 in the medical journal Jama Network.
The data showed a 57 percent increased risk in children of developing type 1 diabetes after contracting Corona, suggesting a direct correlation. "We are cautious about interpreting our results, but the virus could either promote the development of autoimmunity underlying type 1 diabetes, or enhance pre-existing autoimmunity and thus accelerate the destruction of insulin-producing beta cells," said Ezio Bonifacio, co-author of the study from the Technical University of Dresden.
Further studies needed: Can corona vaccination reduce the risk of diabetes in children?
In order to elucidate the exact mechanism behind the increased incidence of type 1 diabetes in children in connection with Corona, further studies are necessary, the researchers said. Some of these are already being planned, such as a cohort study with children over several years. "In these cohorts, we would like to see whether islet autoantibodies and/or a type 1 diabetes diagnosis occur more frequently after infection with SARS-CoV-2," says Anette-Gabriele Ziegler, Director of the Helmholtz Munich Institute for Diabetes Research, according to a press release from the Helmholtz Center. The results of further studies are also intended to answer the question of whether a SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could preventively reduce the risk of type 1 diabetes in young children.
According to information from the Robert Koch Institute, at least 4.6 million people between the ages of 18 and 79 in Germany suffer from diabetes, which corresponds to 7.2 percent of all adults in this country. The number of unreported cases could be over one million people. According to the German Diabetes Society, the risk of premature death increases 2.6-fold in diabetes sufferers. On average, life expectancy is reduced by about five to six years compared to people of the same age without diabetes. 95 percent of all diabetes cases correspond to type 2, which until recently only occurred in adults. Now children are increasingly affected, as the World Health Organization (WHO) noted.
