Covid may raise diabetes risk in children: CDC Study

New York, Jan 8:  Children who have recovered from Covid-19 appear to be at an increased risk of developing Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

A heightened risk of diabetes has already been seen among adults who recovered from Covid-19, according to some studies. Researchers in Europe have reported an increase in the number of children being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes since the pandemic started, the New York Times reported.

But the CDC study is among the first to examine large insurance claim databases in the US to estimate the prevalence of new diabetes diagnoses in children under 18 who had Covid-19 or were known to be infected with the Coronavirus, the report said.

The study used two claim databases from the US health plans to look at diabetes diagnoses made in youngsters under 18 over a year or more, starting March 1, 2020, comparing those who had Covid to those who didn't.

The researchers found increase in diabetes in both data sets, though the relative rates were quite different.

They found a 2.6-fold increase in new diabetes cases among children in one, and a smaller 30 per cent increase in another.