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Increase in the Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in Young Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Sabitha Sasidharan Pillai1, Phinnara Has2, Jose Bernardo Quintos3
1Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Hasbro Children's Hospital; The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI; Center for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic saw an increase in new cases of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in children under 11. Younger children diagnosed with T2D during the pandemic had higher BMIs and more diastolic hypertension than older children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic created an obesogenic environment potentially impacting pediatric health.
- Type 2 diabetes (T2D) incidence in children has been rising globally.
- Understanding pandemic-related shifts in pediatric T2D is crucial for public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence of new-onset type 2 diabetes (T2D) in children younger than 11 years during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic periods.
- To compare metabolic parameters between children diagnosed with T2D before age 11 versus those diagnosed at age 11 or older.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective cohort study analyzed youth under 21 years with new-onset T2D treated at Hasbro Children's Hospital from January 2017 to December 2021.
- Patients diagnosed at age <11 years were compared to those diagnosed at age ≥11 years.
Main Results:
- Eight (5.5%) of 145 T2D patients were diagnosed under 11 years old, all during the pandemic (8.9% of pandemic diagnoses).
- Children diagnosed with T2D before age 11 had significantly higher median body mass index percentiles (169% vs. 137%, p=0.03).
- Diastolic hypertension was more frequent in the younger T2D group (62.5% vs. 23.8%, p=0.03).
Conclusions:
- A rise in T2D incidence was observed in children under 11 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- An obesogenic environment during the pandemic may have disproportionately affected younger children.
- Further research is needed to understand these trends and develop strategies to mitigate complications of early-onset obesity and insulin resistance.
Objective:
To describe the incidence of new onset type 2 diabetes (T2D) among children younger than 11 years old diagnosed during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 1, 2020-December 31, 2021) compared to those diagnosed during the pre-pandemic period (January 1, 2017-February 29, 2020) and to compare the metabolic parameters of those with T2D diagnosed before age 11 years with those diagnosed after age 11 years.
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective cohort study of youth <21 years with new onset T2D treated at Hasbro Children's Hospital between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2021. Patients diagnosed at age <11 years were compared to those ≥11 years.
Results:
Out of 145 patients with T2D diagnosed 2017-2021, eight (5.5%) were <11 years and all presented during the COVID-19 pandemic (8.9% of those diagnosed during the pandemic). Patients diagnosed <11 years had higher median body mass index percentile compared to patients diagnosed ≥11 years (169% of 95th percentile vs. 137%, p=0.03). Frequency of diastolic hypertension was greater among the younger group compared to older patients (62.5% vs 23.8%, p=0.03).
Conclusions:
An increase in T2D incidence was seen in children <11 years old during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to prior. Multifactorial influences favoring an obesogenic environment may have had a stronger impact on the younger population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research is needed to help understand these trends and develop mitigation plans to reduce complications of early-onset obesity and insulin resistance.
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