The study, conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) in Oslo, Norway, used national health registries to examine diagnoses of new-onset type 1 diabetes in all young people under the age of 18 in Norway (more than ‘1.2 million people) over two years.
Type 1 diabetes, which is commonly diagnosed in younger people and is associated with failure of the pancreas to produce insulin, has long been suspected to be the result of an overactive immune reaction, possibly due to ‘a viral infection, including respiratory viruses.
Although several case reports have suggested a link between new-onset type 1 diabetes and SARS-CoV-2 infection in adults, there is limited evidence for children, the researchers said.
The Norwegian Emergency Preparedness Register for COVID-19 is updated daily, providing individual-level data on PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections, COVID-19 vaccines and disease diagnoses from health services primary and secondary health care.
In the study, researchers observed children from March 1, 2020, until they were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, turned 18, died, or reached the end date of March 22, 2022 .
Over the two-year period, the group identified 424,354 children who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection and 990 cases of type 1 diabetes diagnosis among the 1.2 million children and adolescents included in the study
Adjusting for age, sex, country of origin, geographic area, and socioeconomic factors, the team found that young people who contracted COVID-19 were 60% more likely to develop type 1 diabetes 30 days or more after the infection compared to those who did not have an illness. registered infection or who has tested negative for COVID-19.
“Our national study suggests a possible association between COVID-19 and new-onset type 1 diabetes,” said Dr. Hanne Løvdal Gulseth, lead author and director of research at NIPH, in a statement.
Gulset noted that the increase could be due to delays in seeking care due to the pandemic, but in addition “several studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 can attack the beta cells of the pancreas that they produce insulin, which could lead to the development of type 1 diabetes. It is also possible that the inflammation caused by the virus could lead to an exacerbation of already existing autoimmunity.”
Despite these findings, Gulset indicated that the absolute risk of developing type 1 diabetes was low, increasing from 0.08% to 0.13%. “The vast majority of young people with COVID-19 will not develop type 1 diabetes, but it is important for doctors and parents to be aware of the signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes,” he said.
The team also noted that their study was observational and does not prove cause and effect. Only children who had a PCR test, not a lateral flow test, and who had symptomatic infections were included, which may limit the study’s conclusions. In addition, there was no significant association between vaccination and type 1 diabetes, the researchers said in a presentation.
The researchers said future studies could include long-term follow-up as well as additional focus on variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to determine the reason for the increased risk of type 1 diabetes.
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