Children who caught Covid are at risk of a much deadlier disease years later

Children infected with Covid may be more likely to develop diabetes, a study suggests.

Researchers in Ohio evaluated more than 600,000 American children and teens who had come down either with Covid or an unrelated respiratory disease. 

The team found that children and teens with Covid were up to 60 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with other respiratory infections.

They noted that this could be due to Covid disrupting their metabolism or causing cells in the pancreas to not produce enough insulin, which could lead to diabetes. 

Children and teens who were infected with Covid may be more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio found (stock image)

However, the study only looked at correlation and not causation, meaning the findings don’t prove that Covid causes type 2 diabetes. 

Overweight kids were even more likely to become diabetic after contracting Covid. 

And the team noted that some of these cases could have been lurking before the participants became sick with Covid, and diabetes was discovered while they were treated for Covid.

However, ‘a substantial portion of the cases follow the infection,’ they wrote. 

But surprisingly, even children who were not overweight were up to 60 percent more likely to develop diabetes compared to those with other respiratory illnesses. 

The findings come as more diabetes surges in the US and UK, which experts have blamed on increasing obesity rates and greater access to ultra-processed foods. 

About 34million Americans are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and just over 5,000 of them are under 19 years old, according to the CDC.  

The new study by Case Western Reserve University in Ohio looked at data on 613,602 children and teens ages 10 to 19 between January 2020 and December 2022. 

Half of participants had been diagnosed with Covid at some point during the study, while the other half had contracted an unrelated respiratory disease asthma, pneumonia, or bronchitis.

In each group, about one in 200 participants were overweight or obese. 

The average age was 15, and the majority of participants (57 percent) were white. 

Researchers checked for diabetes risk at three different intervals: one, three, and six months after being diagnosed with Covid or another respiratory illness. 

This was done by looking at A1C levels, which measure the average glucose in the blood. 

The researchers found that children and teens who had been infected with Covid were 55 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes one month after infection than those with other respiratory conditions. 

That risk dipped slightly to 48 percent after three months before going up to 58 percent after six months.  

And those who were overweight or obese were twice as likely to develop diabetes at one and three months after infection compared to those with other respiratory diseases. 

After six months, this group was at a 227 percent increased risk. 

The above map shows the states with the highest rates of type 2 diabetes

The above graph shows estimates for global diabetes cases. It is predicted that the number of people with the condition will more than double by the year 2050 compared to 2021

The team also found that children and teens who had been hospitalized within a month of contracting Covid were three times more likely to develop diabetes after one month compared to those hospitalized with other illnesses. 

That elevated risk dropped slightly to about 270 percent after three and six months. 

They said that Covid could disrupt metabolism, leading to nutrient imbalances and weight gain, which have been associated with type 2 diabetes risk. 

Additionally, they noted that infection may increase the development of antibodies that attack cells in the pancreas, which produce insulin. If the body can’t produce enough insulin, glucose builds up in the blood, increasing the risk of diabetes.  

The researchers noted that further studies are needed to see how likely the diabetes is to persist or reverse later in life.