German researchers see evidence for a link between a corona infection and the development of type 1 diabetes (“sugar”, note) in children. This is shown by data from 1.1 million children between the ages of two and twelve who are legally insured for health insurance in Germany.
The incidence of type 1 diabetes in children increased by 50 percent in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2018 to 2019. In addition, in the two pandemic years 2020 to 2021, diabetes was more common in children diagnosed with Covid 19. The children had corona infection 57 percent more likely to get type 1 diabetes than children without infection, researchers from Helmholtz Zentrum Munich and TU Dresden report on Tuesday
Researchers see a direct connection
The number of new cases of diabetes mainly increased in the quarter in which the children contracted a corona infection, but also in the following quarters. According to the researchers, the results point to a direct link between infection with the pathogen SARS-CoV-2 and type 1 diabetes, which usually begins in childhood or adolescence. The autoimmune disease is caused by an absolute failure of the cells in the pancreas that produce the hormone insulin.
It was already known that the number of children with diabetes in Germany rose sharply during the Covid 19 pandemic. The reasons for this are not yet clear. So far, studies do not distinguish between children with and without a previous corona infection.
The now evaluated dataset of the Bavarian Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians provides information on whether children with type 1 diabetes previously had corona. This allows conclusions to be drawn about a temporal connection, according to the scientists.
Does the virus promote the development of autoimmunity?
“We are cautious in interpreting our results, but the virus could either promote the development of the autoimmunity underlying type 1 diabetes, or enhance pre-existing autoimmunity and thus trigger the destruction of insulin-producing beta cells. speed up,” explains Ezio Bonifacio, co-author. of the study of the Technical University of Dresden.
According to the researchers, further research is needed to elucidate the exact mechanism behind the increased incidence of type 1 diabetes in children associated with Corona.
Source: Krone
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