Children and teens who have contracted COVID are more prone to diabetes, study says

Children and teenagers who have been infected with strains of the coronavirus are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those affected by other respiratory diseases, according to a new research study published on Monday.

Children were 50% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes about six months after contracting the coronavirus infection compared to those with other respiratory illnesses such as seasonal flu bronchitis, according to the JAMA Network Open study.

The odds only increased for obese children, who had a staggering 100% greater probability compared to their peers.

The researchers used health records of more than 60,000 children aged 10 to 19 from January 2020 – before the coronavirus was declared a pandemic – to December 2022.

The subjects’ data was categorized into two groups – one with those who tested positive for the coronavirus and another with those who contracted all other respiratory diseases. From there, all correlations with positive diabetes diagnoses were noted and studied.

Some of the health data came from before the coronavirus vaccines were made available to children, as the vaccines were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for those ages 5 to 11 until October 2021. The research did not note whether the subjects had they received the vaccines or not?

The emergence of diabetes can also be attributed to other impacts from the pandemic lockdown, such as reduced physical activity or lack of immunity, Steven M. Willi, director of the diabetes center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told The Washington Post.

Willi was not involved in the study and believes the correlations reached between the coronavirus and type 2 diabetes still require further investigation.

The coronavirus is also not the only respiratory disease with the potential to cause other autoimmune diseases.

The Epstein-Barr virus, more commonly known as mononucleosis or the “kissing disease,” has been linked to conditions such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Bronchiectasis is also known to cause similar autoimmune diseases, including Sjogren’s syndrome and relapsing polychondritis.

Anandita Pal, a pediatrician in Houston, told the Washington Post that while the study is significant, parents should not automatically assume that their child will develop diabetes because they have contracted the coronavirus.

“Autoimmune conditions are based on each person’s genetics and their environment and all the other variables,” Pal said.