CDC report: COVID may raise risk of diabetes in children

Children who have recovered from COVID-19 appear to be at significantly increased risk of developing Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

A heightened risk of diabetes has already been seen among adults who recovered from COVID, according to some studies. Researchers in Europe have reported an increase in the number of children being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes since the pandemic started.

But the CDC study is among the first to examine large insurance claim databases in the United States to estimate the prevalence of new diabetes diagnoses in children younger than 18 who had COVID or were known to be infected with the coronavirus.

The study used two claim databases from U.S. health plans to look at diabetes diagnoses made in people under 18 over the course of a year or more, starting in March 1, 2020, comparing those who had COVID with those who did not.

The researchers found increases in diabetes in both data sets, although the relative rates were quite different: They found a 2.6-fold increase in new diabetes cases among children in one and a 30% increase in another.

“Even a 30% increase is a big increase in risk,” said Sharon Saydah, a researcher at the CDC and lead author of the study. The differences likely result from different ways of classifying children as having COVID, she added.

Saydah said it was not yet clear whether post-COVID diabetes would be a chronic condition in these children, or a transient condition that resolves. Most of the children were followed about 4 1/2 months.

The finding underscores the importance of vaccinating all eligible children against COVID, she added, and using measures like masking and distancing, especially to protect the youngest, who cannot yet be vaccinated.

“It’s really important for clinicians, pediatricians and parents to be aware of the signs and symptoms of diabetes, so they can get their kids diagnosed,” Saydah said. Increased thirst, frequent urination, unintentional weight loss and fatigue are among the telltale symptoms.

She noted that weight gain and sedentary behavior, which have increased during the pandemic, are also risk factors for diabetes.

Many children in the study were diagnosed after having an episode of diabetic ketoacidosis.