Type 1 diabetes risk increases in young people following COVID-19 infection, studies suggest

A COVID-19 infection can increase the chances of developing Type 1 diabetes, specifically when it comes to younger people, according to a new study.

Research published in JAMA Network Open found that the risk of Type 1 diabetes was greater in patients aged 18 and younger for up to six months after a COVID-19 infection, compared to those who had experienced a respiratory infection that was not COVID-19. 

The study, completed by researchers based in Cleveland, Ohio,examined close to 319,000 young people with COVID-19 and about 776,000 with infections that were not COVID-19. 

And though it’s a rare complication of COVID-19, it’s not something to dismiss, Dr. IsaacBogoch, an infectious disease physician, told CTV News Channelon Thursday.

“When people get a COVID-19 infection, there’s often a cascade in the body to mount an immune response, and we know Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition,” said Bogoch. 

Research over the last two years of the pandemic has indicated that COVID-19 is associated with worsening symptoms of diabetes for those who already have the disease,according to the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. 

But the reports also point to an increased risk of developing diabetes, specifically for young people under 18 years old, according to U.S. data collected over the pandemic from March 2020 to the end of June 2021.

Among about 80,000 patients with COVID-19, diabetes incidence was 316 per 100,000 people. Within that group, new diabetes cases were 166 per cent more likely to occur in people with COVID-19 than people without,according to the research. . 

With autoimmune conditions, the body attacks itself, and with Type 1 diabetes it attacks “special cells in the pancreas”, said Bogoch.

There’s likely a link between the development of antibodies during COVID-19, and in a “very small, but not insignificant number of people”, sometimes there will be a “cross reactivity” and the antibodies could end up attacking the pancreas, said Bogoch.

“Fortunately, it’s rare, but it’s another long-term complication of COVID-19 we’re seeing,” he said.

Type 1 diabetes can be accompanied with extreme thirst, weight loss and frequent urination, said Bogoch. But he emphasized that this is a rare complication of COVID-19 and that while some studies have demonstrated a link, there are others that have not.

“But no one would be surprised if this ends up being a real link as we have seen in a few studies so far,” he said.

Within the six months to one year after recovery from COVID-19 infections, there is also a rise in the risk of blood clots, including in the veins, and a small but “real” increase in heart attacks and strokesoverall, he said.

“The absolute risk of this is actually pretty small, but the relative risk of this is higher if you’ve had COVID,” he said. “Blood clots, we see some people develop brain fog, shortness of breath and fatigue that’s persistent, there are unfortunately many complications after COVID-19 that we don’t fully understand,” he said.