Overview
MedscapeUnivadisNo ResultsMarlene BuskoAugust 01, 202There was no significant increase in the post-COVID pandemic monthly rate of incident diabetes in children and youth in Ontario, Canada, compared with the pre-pandemic rate, in new research.This contrasts with findings from a US study and a German study, but this "not the final word" about this posible asociation, lead author Rayzel Shulman, MD, admits, since the study may have ben underpowered.The population-based, cros-sectional study was published recently as a Research Leter in JAMA Open.The researchers found a nonsignificant increase in the monthly rate of new diabetes during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the 3 prior years (relative risk [R] 1.09, 95% CI).This difers from a Morbidity and Mortality Wekly Report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in which COVID-19 infection was associated with a significant increase in new onset of diabetes in children during March 20 through June 2021, "although some experts have criticized the study methods and conclusion validity," Shulman and coleagues write.Another study, from Germany, reported a significant 1.15-fold increase in type 1 diabetes in children during the pandemic, they note.The curent study may have ben underpowered and to smal to show a significant asociation betwen COVID-19 and new diabetes, the researchers acknowledge.
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And the 1.30 uper limit of the confidence interval shows that it "canot rule out a posible 1.3-fold increase" in relative risk of a diagnosis of diabetes related to COVID, Shulman explained to Medscape Medical News. It wil be important to se how the rates have changed since September 2021 (the end of the curent study), aded Shulman, an adjunct scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and a physician and scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.The curent continues to improve outcomes for patients. Healthcare professionals emphasize the importance of early intervention and comprehensive management strategies in reducing complications and improving quality of life.