In the more than two years of the pandemic, there is more than enough scientific evidence that the Diabetes is a worse prognostic factor in individuals infected with coronavirus. In summary: a person with diabetes is more at risk of facing severe forms of Covid-19.
Because a study published in January 2022, from two major North American databases, evaluated the reverse pathi.e.: the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the number of new cases of diabetes.
In the first database, called IQVIA Databasemore than 81 thousand cases of Covid-19 were assessed from March 2020 to February 2021. children infected with Sars-CoV-2 showed a 166% more risk to develop diabetes compared to those who have not been in contact with the virus.
Interestingly, the researchers even compared the risk of diabetes in children who suffered from acute respiratory syndromes before the pandemic. vs children who have faced Covid-19. And be amazed: despite this, the risk of diabetes was 116% higher among those who tested positive for the coronavirus.
+ Read also: Can Covid vaccines make diabetics’ blood sugar worse?
In another large database called Health Truththe likelihood of boys and girls infected with Sars-CoV-2 being later diagnosed with diabetes was 31% higher than in children who did not have Covid-19.
In both research bases, the risk of diabetes appeared to be increased in all age groups up to 18 years old – the age cutoff for the study.
What we do not know, however, is mechanism why Covid increases the likelihood of a person developing diabetes. It is assumed that, in children, most diagnoses in these studies were type 1 diabetes, which has an autoimmune cause and is the most common type in childhood and adolescence.
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Some hypotheses are based on factors such as the destruction of insulin-producing cells (located in the pancreas), the generalized inflammation induced by Covid-19, the use of corticosteroids in the hospital and the trigger for self -immunity – that is, the virus stimulates the patient’s own immune system to destroy the pancreas.
Research is already being done to explain this link and soon we will have greater certainty. But, in any case, the best thing is to help our children and adolescents to prevent themselves against Covid-19, with the correct use of masks, hand hygiene, distance from built-up areas and vaccination those aged 5 or older.
Now, if the boy or girl has already caught Covid-19, one should be aware of the risk of diabetes, which makes periodic reviews glucose and observe any symptoms of the disease, such as weight loss, excessive water intake, excessive urination, blurred vision, and increased hunger pangs.
