While there was no significant increase in preventable illnesses and deaths in kids during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study suggests there were delays in diagnoses of cancer and diabetes.
The cross-sectional study was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Tuesday.
The researchers, who are affiliated with Toronto’s Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, examined data on emergency room (ER) visits, hospital admissions and deaths, ranging from newborns to 17 year olds in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province.
They compared the observed rates during the first two-and-a-half years of the pandemic — March 2020 to August 2022 — to predicted rates based on the three years before the pandemic — January 2017 to February 2020.
During the pandemic overall, the researchers found that rates of deaths, newborn re-admissions, ER visits or hospital admissions among children with chronic health conditions did not exceed predicted rates.
As well, they found that ER visits and hospital admissions decreased immediately at the start of the pandemic, with the lowest rates observed in April 2020. The decreases were sustained until September 2021 and May 2022, respectively.
However, the study notes there is evidence of potential delays in new diagnoses of two pediatric illnesses — cancer and diabetes — with lower relative rates early in the pandemic.
For the first three months of the pandemic, there was a significant drop in new diagnoses of diabetes mellitus, also known simply as diabetes, and cancer. Then, there was a significant increase in diagnoses of those illnesses during most of 2021 and 2022.
Among these cases, presentations for diabetic ketoacidosis — a serious complication of diabetes that can be life-threatening — were significantly higher than expected during the pandemic overall. This, the researchers suggest, is likely related to “delayed care-seeking.”
Meanwhile, despite delays in cancer diagnoses, there were no excess presentations of severe cancer overall.
The study also shows children with pneumonia, asthma and neurologic impairments had higher-than-expected hospital admission rates in the spring and summer of 2022, likely due to pandemic measures being lifted.
The researchers say continued surveillance and research are necessary to investigate these trends. They also recommend education campaigns around important signs and symptoms of illnesses like diabetes in children in preparation for future public health emergencies.
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