A recent study involving over 600,000 children and adolescents suggests that teens may face a heightened risk of developing type 2 diabetes following a COVID-19 infection.
The study, conducted by Dr. Pauline Terebuh and her team from Case Western Reserve University, found that adolescents aged 10 to 19 had a 55% increased likelihood of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes one month after contracting COVID-19, compared to those who had other respiratory infections. This risk remained elevated at three months (48% higher) and six months (58% higher) after infection, according to findings published in JAMA Network Open.
“Youth diagnosed with diabetes will bear the consequences for years, facing complications and increased medical costs,” Dr. Terebuh told MedPage Today, stressing the importance of addressing all potential factors contributing to this concerning trend, including COVID-19 and rising rates of obesity.
There is growing evidence that COVID-19, now considered endemic, may impact pancreatic β cells, potentially leading to impaired insulin production. While type 2 diabetes is typically linked to insulin resistance, the researchers noted that in newly diagnosed patients, the cause could involve more complex mechanisms, possibly triggered by the viral infection.
This study adds to a growing body of research on the link between COVID-19 and diabetes in youth, though earlier studies primarily focused on type 1 diabetes. The pandemic also brought significant lifestyle changes for young people, from altered food access to reduced physical activity, and elevated stress levels, which may have contributed to the rise in diabetes diagnoses.
The study analyzed electronic health records of 613,602 patients, half of whom were diagnosed with COVID-19 between January 2020 and December 2022. None had a prior diagnosis of diabetes. The data showed that in adolescents with a body mass index (BMI) indicating overweight or obesity, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes after COVID-19 was even higher:
- 1 month post-infection: Risk was double compared to those with other respiratory infections.
- 3 months post-infection: Risk remained nearly double.
- 6 months post-infection: Risk was more than twice as high.
Furthermore, teens who were hospitalized within a month of their COVID-19 diagnosis were at the highest risk of developing type 2 diabetes:
- 1 month post-hospitalization: Risk was over three times higher.
- 3 months post-hospitalization: Risk was almost three times higher.
- 6 months post-hospitalization: Risk remained more than twice as high.
The researchers acknowledged that some of the diabetes diagnoses may have predated the COVID-19 infection but were only discovered during the medical encounter. It is also possible that some patients only experienced temporary hyperglycemia due to the metabolic stress from the infection. Additional follow-up would be needed to confirm whether these patients meet the diagnostic criteria for type 2 diabetes long-term.
Other limitations of the study included the inability to account for variables such as vaccination status, socioeconomic factors, BMI, and insulin resistance. Researchers also did not control for treatments specific to obesity, which could have influenced the outcomes.
Dr. Terebuh and her team emphasized the importance of continued research into new treatments for both diabetes and obesity, such as GLP-1 receptor antagonists, which may play a role in managing this emerging health challenge.
