Diabetes cases increased worldwide during Corona – children are also affected

Type 1 diabetes cases have increased significantly since the start of the pandemic. This is currently shown by several studies worldwide. Michael Hauschild, a diabetes specialist at the Center hospitalier universitaire vaudois (CHUV) in Lausanne, says: “We have observed an increase in cases in pediatric endocrinology and diabetology in 2021, which will continue into 2022.”

A US study from San Diego shows a 57 percent increase in type 1 diabetes in children after the start of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019. The number of cases during the Covid 19 pandemic was higher than expected in the only children’s hospital in the San Diego area, the study authors write about Bethany L. Gottesman.

This raises the question to what extent the increase in diabetes diagnoses has anything to do with a corona infection. A research team led by Alan Kwan of the Cedars Sinai Smidt Heart Institute in Los Angeles investigated this and published a study on the “Jawa Network” last week.

Data from patients treated at Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles between March 2020 and June 2022 show that the risk of diabetes following a corona infection has increased significantly. «The risk of diabetes after Covid-19 infection was higher in unvaccinated than in vaccinated patients, indicating a benefit of the vaccination,” the American scientists write in their conclusion. However, according to Kwan, the causes that contribute to the risk of diabetes after infection remained unclear

Michael Hauschild says there are many reasons for the increase in type 1 diabetes. The incidence of type 1 diabetes is increasing in all parts of the world. “The reasons for this are not exactly known yet, but there are Interactions between environmental factors, the immune system and genetic factors.» In a multifactorial event, it is very difficult to identify the cause of an autoimmune process for the individual patient. According to Hauschild, type 1 diabetes, which is most common in children, is associated with an immune-related destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells and requires lifelong insulin replacement therapy.

“For Switzerland, but also at the European level, the figures indicate an increase in the incidence of type 1 diabetes in children by an average of three to five percent in recent years.” There are currently no figures for Switzerland that would show an above-average increase since 2020, says the CHUV diabetes specialist.

It is possible that the risk of developing type 1 diabetes is increased after a corona infection. “But the connection has not yet been proven,” says Michael Hauschild. Studies on this are ongoing. Hauschild also lacks reliable data on the positive impact of the Covid vaccination found in Alan Kwan’s study.

Little change was noted in the number of cases of diabetic ketoacidosis during the pandemic. This is a serious metabolic derailment due to acute insulin deficiency, which can cause a life-threatening diabetic coma and should therefore be treated as an emergency.

If there are more diabetes diagnoses, there should be more of these emergencies. Actually some studies show that cases of ketoacidosis have increased during the pandemic due to delayed diabetes diagnoses is.

To prevent these cases, early detection is the most important thing. Signs of possible childhood diabetes include excessive thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, and weight loss. If diabetes is then diagnosed, the acute insulin deficiency and thus ketoacidosis can be avoided.