Youth At Risk For Diabetes After COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that the diabetes risk increases for those under 18, after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Children that tested positive for COVID-19 were found to be 166% more likely to receive a new diabetes diagnosis when compared to kids who had not contracted the virus. Scientifically, COVID-19 is not just deadlier for those with diabetes– it is also a source that triggers diabetes in many who did not previously have the virus. Director of the clinical epidemiology center at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System Ziyad Al-Aly noted the unexpectedness of this finding. 

“It took a while to convince me,” said Al-Aly. “It was hard to believe that Covid could be doing this.” With the Omicron virus sweeping the nation, this new finding has proven particularly alarming.

A new report by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) determined more than 2.5 million patients under the age of 18 with COVID were one to five times more likely to receive a diabetes diagnosis. Doctors suspect that the virus could be damaging the pancreas, which is needed to convert blood sugar into energy. 

“This risk seems higher for youth who are pre-diabetic, considered obese, or have pre-morbidities”, said Dr. Sarah Lawrence, a pediatric endocrinologist at CHEO and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Ottawa. “A virus — it could be just a cold — puts stress on the body. We see this all the time,” she pointed out. “They have pre-diabetes for a period of months or years, then they tip out.”

Although the link between COVID-19 and diabetes is not definitive,  the CDC has nonetheless encouraged healthcare providers to screen for diabetes symptoms in children and youth with a history of COVID infection. These symptoms include frequent urination, increased thirst, increased hunger, weight loss, tiredness or fatigue, stomach pain, and nausea or vomiting. Unusual patterns of change in behavior should also be monitored. 

The study further underscores the importance of getting vaccinated and boosted, as well as practicing social distancing and wearing more protective masks. Vaccinations and boost shots  will prevent the spread of the Omicron variant and thus lower the chance of diabetes diagnosis. “We continuously advise for the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC, that if the child is eligible, to get the vaccine,” Chief Medical Officer at Dell Children’s Medical Center Dr. Meena Iyer emphasized. Vaccines can also help avoid serious illness and death, the CDC notes. Doctors agree this has been a difficult and seemingly perpetual pandemic– but continuing to remain vigilant in the face of adversity will both stop the rampant increase in  the diabetic and coronavirus populations. 

Written by Myla Leung of Winston Churchill High School

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