COVID-19 Infection Linked to Accelerated Onset of Type 1 Diabetes in Children

A recent study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that contracting COVID-19 may hasten the onset of type 1 diabetes symptoms in children. Researchers found that those in early stages of the disease progressed more rapidly after infection, indicating a strong association between the virus and the autoimmune disorder.

Contracting COVID-19 may accelerate the onset of visible type 1 diabetes symptoms in children, an autoimmune condition, according to a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Researchers found that children infected with the virus and in the early stages of type 1 diabetes without displaying symptoms progressed more rapidly to a clinical onset of the autoimmune disorder.

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 until 2023, children participating in the Fr1da study were tested for COVID-19 and islet autoantibodies. The researchers accumulated valuable data on the link between the SARS-CoV-2 virus and type 1 diabetes.

(With inputs from agencies.)