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.

@MsAwesomeDragon I ended up in ICU with ketoacidosis as it didn't occur to anyone that my symptoms could be T1 until it was nearly too late. I have since had doctors and pharmacists telling me I can't be T1 because it doesn't develop at my age. I think it's still unusual but sadly becoming more common.

Sorry, screwed up posting message.

I was diagnosed as T1 at 46. Consultant said I couldn't be so I was on metaformin for 4 weeks. Eventually, put on insulin.

I had been taking Augmentin (antibiotic) for a sinus infection.

My Dad, at age 75, was also diagnosed straight to T1. He had a chest infection and had been taking Augmentin.

No history of diabetes in either side of family previously.

So, yes, i do believe that a virus can trigger diabetes.

I hate it still.

Another day, another MN scare story

No. It is considered that people are born with a predisposition to developing Type 1 and that at some point, a virus triggers it. You could be diagnosed at any point from the day you are born to the day you die. It is no surprise that the current situation may be resulting in a higher than average rate of diagnosis. The forums I belong to are choc-full of new diagnosis, way more than usual and I am aware on on-going research. Type 1 can kill - the more awareness raised, the easier it iso get timely help if you need it.

Yes. T1 can appear at any age, in many cases related to other conditions, for instance having Celiac Disease but not following gluten free diet (generally from lack of diagnosis).

Yes, it's a worry. I have one child with type one and it concerns me that it might trigger it in the others. I have an autoimmune condition which causes "sticky blood" (as part of a lupus type diagnosis). Part of the diagnostic test is prolonged antiphosolipid antibodies. They are seeing covid patients with these. Long covid seems very like an autoimmune disease for many. I am also concerned about the mantra that covid does no harm to children. I personally know of one child with lung scarring consistent with covid (from a respiratory virus in March) and research is saying that young people are experiencing long covid. I really hope we know what we are doing to our children.

Many years ago my brother developed Type 1 after a virus....another 3 children in his small class did too. Its not a coincidence. Its very concerning.

Yes long term effects on kids is a big concern for me. Most viruses cause long term effects in some. Why would Covid be different? I’d like to know what they are but unfortunately that data isn’t here yet. There was information about Covid and male fertility yesterday.

T1 diagnosed at 37. In adults the onset can be very slow so it is often misdiagnosed as T2. Thankfully my GP was on to it.

In my case I suspect that the stress of my marriage breaking up was the trigger.

There’s no history of any autoimmune conditions in either side of my family.

There hasn't been enough research on this. Imperial did a small scale study after 2 London hospitals noticed a sudden uptick in numbers of children being diagnosed with type 1 at the peak of infections. China and Italy had reported that they had a sudden increase across affected regions as well during peak Covid. But it was small-scale and because antibody testing wasn't widely available at that time they couldn't test all of what was already a small sample.

www.imperial.ac.uk/news/201473/covid-19-linked-increase-type-diabetes-children/

Whilst it's far too early to say that Covid is going to cause more type one diabetes (especially, as a pp mentioned, these may have been children who were going to get it anyway at some point) the sudden jump in three different locations associated with a high level of Covid infection in the community is a cause for concern. Especially since doctors were reporting a higher number than usual presenting as very unwell on diagnosis.

A plausible mechanism has also been suggested:

www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2020/sep/a-german-teenager-is-believed-to-be-the-very-first-person-to-have-been-diagnosed-with-type-1-diabetes-after-being-infected-with-covid-19.html

can i ask are the t1 on here either bame or maybe very pale easily burnt use a lot of suntan lotion?
Wondering due to vit d?

Also hand foot and mouth causes t1.
My dc1 was very ill for a year after having it.

I think there's actually a third type of diabetes

www.nhs.uk/news/diabetes/vitamin-d-may-help-reduce-type-1-diabetes-risk-susceptible-children/

I don't think it's a scare story. I'd prefer to be informed of any possible risks rather than burying my head in the sand

My father was diagnosed with T1 in his 70s. He was told he was incredibly unusual but not unique. He had a weird infection a week before. We think that may have triggered it but we will never know.

I'm neither bame nor a big user of sun cream. I spend a chunk of the working day outdoors all year round, so I'd be surprised if vitamin D was an issue. I do take vit D supplements now though, but didn't before my diagnosis.

DS is type 1, I'm in few Facebook groups and there has been a massive influx of newly diagnosed parents joining over the summer. Likewise my sons named nurse has never known it so busy visiting new patients.

It is also more nuanced than a black and white matter of getting T1D or not.

If the kids who are being diagnosed during peaks of covid are noticeably on the sicker end at diagnosis (ie more severe DKA) that raises a lot of questions - one being how this affects residual insulin production.

Some T1Ds will go on to produce very tiny amounts of insulin for decades after diagnosis. Current thinking points to this offering some protection against microvascular complications over the lifespan - perhaps explaining why some T1Ds escape the brunt of complications, and why others do not.

If it turns out that covid really trashes beta cells at the higher end of the scale, this is bad news.

T1 since aged 1. What an absolute shit disease it is.

"If the kids who are being diagnosed during peaks of covid are noticeably on the sicker end at diagnosis (ie more severe DKA) that raises a lot of questions - one being how this affects residual insulin production."

That's exactly what the doctors in the hospitals in the study were saying, @AbsentmindedWoman; more acute DKA than they would usually see. At the very least there should be a push for better publicising of the symptoms of type 1. Doesn't even need to be linked to Covid if the evidence isn't good enough yet.

I'm no more worried about it than any of the other randomly shit things that could happen to any of us at any time. Autoimmune disease is triggered by all sorts of random viruses, exposure, etc. I don't doubt that covid is any different in that respect.