COVID-19 Infection Leads to Disease Progression in Children With Presymptomatic Type 1 Diabetes

COVID-19 infection accelerates disease progression in children and adolescents with presymptomatic type 1 diabetes, according to a new study published in JAMA.

Researchers analyzed 591 youth (aged 1 to 16 years) with presymptomatic type 1 diabetes from February 2015 to October 2023. The study’s primary end point outcome was the development of clinical type 1 diabetes according to the American Association of Diabetes criteria. COVID-19 infection was defined from the family or the appearance of antibodies to both the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain and nucleocapsid proteins, the researchers noted.

According to the results, the incidence rate of type 1 diabetes during the pandemic period was 8.6 (95% CI, 6.2-11.7; P=.16). The type 1 diabetes incidence rates were 15.3 (95% CI, 8.7-25.1) for participants with a reported COVID-19 infection and 13.7 (95% CI, 8.9-20.4) for participants who had evidence of a COVID-19 infection based on antibody measurements only.

“Follow-up of youth with presymptomatic type 1 diabetes demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an accelerated progression to clinical disease and that this acceleration was confined to those with COVID-19,” the researchers concluded. “The findings are consistent with previously reported acceleration of progression in children with presymptomatic type 1 diabetes by viral infection.”