Immune Systems Advisor

There was an unexpected surge in the diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes among children and teenagers worldwide amidst the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. The  systematic review , published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), analyzed 42 studies on diabetes incidence, including 17 studies involving nearly 38,000 people under the age of 19. The review revealed a 14 percent surge in Type 1 diabetes cases in 2020, followed by a 27 percent increase in 2021, compared to before the pandemic. This image shows a 3D print of a spike protein of SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—in front of a 3D print of a SARS-CoV-2 virus particle. (Courtesy of NIAID/RML) Furthermore, the research highlighted a rise in Type 2 diabetes incidence and diabetic ketoacidosis, a severe complication of diabetes more common in Type 1 patients, after the start of the pandemic. What Is the Link Between COVID and Type 1 Diabetes? The exact connection between COV...

A new study adds to 11 others for increased risk of Type 2 diabetes. Back in 2020, when the first signals that diabetes (particularly Type 2) was showing up more than a month out from Covid, the hope was that it was spurious. But then study after study have been confirming this sequela. A new study  (JAMA 2023) from the province of British Columbia in Canada, a comprehensive population assessment, is the 12th report of a heightened risk of Type 2 diabetes after Covid. This cohort was younger than most (mean age 32 years) and the increased risk of 17% was less than most of the previous publications. I’ve summarized the key data for Type 2 diabetes risk in the Table below. As you can see, the cohorts varied considerably with respect to age and sex. Consistently, the risk has been seen to be higher in men, in people of advanced age, and among those obese, and those with severe Covid. The increased risk compared with controls ranges widely from 17% to 97% with only 1 of these studies ...