Are you uneasy about covid possibly triggering type 1 diabetes in kids?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

I remember reading a while back that different cities around the world are reporting increases of children and teens being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes from spring/ summer this year. I think several American institutions had the figure around 40%, and Imperial College London about 50%. The kids being diagnosed are frequently asymptomatic in terms of covid, but their positive test is being picked up when they are screened for it, on admission for their diabetes. It has been thought for a long time that a bad virus can trigger it, so in a way it's not surprise really - except that the children don't seem to be all that sick with this virus in the first place.

Now with covid spreading quite a lot through schools at the moment, is anyone feeling uneasy about this? I'm type 1. It's a shit disease and I am sad to think of it becoming 40% more common. I also wonder if it is triggering diabetes what other damage could it be doing to the immune systems of young people?

Honestly, I am so sick and tired of covid and all the unpleasant shite it can do to us - both physically and societally.

I remember reading this a while back and I had forgotten all about it since then. Yes it is a concern for sure

I'm really confused.do you mean they were testing positive for antibodies on admission?

@Jrobhatch29

I'm really confused.do you mean they were testing positive for antibodies on admission?

A mixture of covid antibodies and active infection, I think.

I think the study I read said there had been a unexplained spike in affected areas of children being diagnosed with diabetes. Even without the antibodies testing it would be alarming to see a sudden spike in dignosis

A friend has a little girl with type 1 diabetes. 4 of them in the class were all diagnosed at the same time. This was pre COVID but they had all come down with a virus. The class TA had a baptism of fire on how to look after children with Type 1 diabetes!

So I guess it would make sense the same could happen with COVID.

A friend has a little girl with type 1 diabetes. 4 of them in the class were all diagnosed at the same time. This was pre COVID but they had all come down with a virus. The class TA had a baptism of fire on how to look after children with Type 1 diabetes!

Woah! That's insane

That poor TA doesn't get paid enough

Surely covid doesn't cause instant diabetes though? So kids being hospitalised for diabetes but have an active infection is more likely to be a coincidence? I can see the link with historic cases identified through antibodies

I wasn't until I opened this thread!

It's thought that diabetes and some other autoimmune conditions are potentially caused by a genetic tendency together with a trigger, which could be viral in some people. So, in theory, coronavirus could trigger diabetes in potentially vulnerable children.

www.diabetes.co.uk/causes-of-type1-diabetes.html

Surely covid doesn't cause instant diabetes though? So kids being hospitalised for diabetes but have an active infection is more likely to be a coincidence?

Not exactly. Researchers are doing, well, research to see if covid stimulates an autoimmune attack on the beta cells (they produce insulin) in the pancreas.

When people get extremely ill from covid, like with serious respiratory distress, a haywire immune response is a large part of the problem also. Similarly too when there are people left with heart damage. This virus just seems capable of causing a range of different problems for the immune system.

There are a variety of genetic and environmental factors that can be a factor i the development of type 1 diabetes. It's not that surprising that a novel virus that is known to affect multiple organs and trigger a cytokine cascade can be a factor in the development of diabetes. Not great for those affected but certainly for some of that 40% they might have had developed diabetes at a later date anyway. It's too soon to know how many would be in that group and how many may never have developed diabetes.

It's thought that diabetes and some other autoimmune conditions are potentially caused by a genetic tendency together with a trigger, which could be viral in some people. So, in theory, coronavirus could trigger diabetes in potentially vulnerable children.

In terms of covid it is not clear yet whether it is 'just' children with a genetic susceptibility. I'd be very careful of automatically assuming this to be the case.

Just want to come on here and say type 1 is SHIT . High five OP fellow T1 😃

It's not that surprising that a novel virus that is known to affect multiple organs and trigger a cytokine cascade can be a factor in the development of diabetes.

Absolutely.

However, the overwhelming message has been that covid isn't a big deal at all for children.

Another day, another MN scare story.

Yes if we thought Covid was more likely to cause long term effects on children people may be a lot more wary of exposing their child

@jellybeanz1212 back at ya!

My sister has T1. I have T2. My family is riddled with diabetes, along with various other autoimmune illnesses. I'm terrified that covid could cause dd2 to become T1 diabetic (dd1 is too old for that now as an adult).

I've taught a lot more T1 diabetics in recent years than I ever have before. It seems to be on the rise in my area even before covid. This year I've got 2 in one class, which I've never had before.

@MaxNormal

Another day, another MN scare story.

There is a difference between being concerned and talking about a potential issue, and being scared stiff.

Ignoring 'scary' stuff doesn't make it conveniently go away y'know

DD was diagnosed at 3 years old after a bad cough and cold, no family history so we were told it was likely from the virus that she'd had a few weeks previously

@MsAwesomeDragon I'm sad to say your dd1 isn't too old. I was diagnosed last year at the ripe old age of 54!

Yes, viruses can wreak havoc in insidious ways. At a conference I attended last year, new research was being published that showed that in a significant amount of measles cases, the measles virus essentially wipes clean the immune system in a child. So the immune system has to rebuild and start from scratch again.

So even when kids don't die from measles itself and appear to recover well, overall child mortality rates are higher in areas with measles outbreaks for a few years afterwards because the child population is more vulnerable.

Sorry @MsAwesomeDragon, I've just realised you maybe meant that your adult dd is too old to have diabetes triggered by coronavirus. I'm sure the reports I read a while ago referred to it happening in adults, not just children though.

I have no idea what triggered my type 1 diabetes so late in life. There is no family history but there are various other autoimmune diseases in the family, including both my DC. Apparently it is becoming more common in middle aged people too. I believe Theresa May was 55 when she developed it.

[quote EmptyNesta]@MsAwesomeDragon I'm sad to say your dd1 isn't too old. I was diagnosed last year at the ripe old age of 54![/quote]
With T1? Wow, that's incredible. We were told when my sister was diagnosed that she was one of the oldest they'd diagnosed with T1. She was 19. That's quite a while ago though now, so it's not surprising that not everything we were told back then is still true. I don't want either dd to get T1. Tbh, I don't want either of them to end up with T2 either, but I'm more resigned to that, and it's looking more likely as dd1 has already got PCOS which is very much linked to diabetes.

Another one diagnosed as T1 at the age of 48.