KEY POINTS

  • Children who recovered from COVID-19 were 31% to 166% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes: Study
  • The CDC said the study highlights the importance of getting children aged 5 and older vaccinated against COVID-19
  • Child COVID-19 cases in the U.S. surpassed 8.4 million as of Jan. 6

A COVID-19 infection among children could significantly increase their risk of developing Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, researchers said Friday.

The study, which was posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website Friday, drew data from the databases of medical data analytics companies IQVIA and HealthVerity. The samples used were logged between March 2020 and June 2021.

According to IQVIA’s data, children under the age of 18 who recovered from the novel coronavirus were 166% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes over the next month after infection than children who did not get COVID-19.

Medical data from HealthVerity showed that children who contracted COVID-19 were 31% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes.

The study also noted that the virus has disproportionately affected minority groups and warned that children in those groups faced an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

It is unclear whether post-COVID Type 2 diabetes would become a chronic issue or a transient condition that would alleviate over time among children. However, Type 1 diabetes is not reversible, according to the study.

The CDC said the study highlights the importance of getting children aged 5 and older vaccinated against COVID-19, and using protective measures like wearing masks and social distancing for children aged 4 and younger who are not yet eligible to receive the shots.

“It’s really important for clinicians, pediatricians and parents to be aware of the signs and symptoms of diabetes, so they can get their kids diagnosed,” said Dr. Sharon Saydah, a researcher at the C.D.C. and lead author of the study, according to The New York Times.

Some telltale symptoms of diabetes include hunger, fatigue, frequent urination, sudden weight loss, blurred vision and increased thirst.

The data used in the study was collected from 24 hospitals in 20 U.S. states between July and Dec. 9, 2021. At the time, the Delta variant was the dominant strain in the country.

As of Jan. 6, a total of 8,471,003 children were infected with COVID-19, representing 17.4% of all cases reported in the U.S. At least 580,247 child COVID-19 cases were recorded between Dec. 30, 2021 and Jan. 6, 2022, a joint report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association showed.

At Kenya's national museum in Nairobi, school children look at the nearly complete skeleton of "Turkana boy", today 1.6 million years old but aged about eight when he died.
At Kenya's national museum in Nairobi, school children look at the nearly complete skeleton of "Turkana boy", today 1.6 million years old but aged about eight when he died. AFP / TONY KARUMBA
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