Pediatric Diabetes on the Rise: Trends in Incident Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Context: The effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the incident cases of pediatric type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are not clear. Objective: To identify trends in incidence and presentation of pediatric new-onset T1D and T2D during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted. Demographics, anthropometrics, and initial laboratory results from patients ages 0 through 21 years who presented with new-onset diabetes to a pediatric tertiary care center were recorded. Results: During the pandemic, incident cases of pediatric T1D increased from 31 in each of the prior 2 years to 46; an increase of 48%. Incident cases of pediatric T2D increased by 231% from 2019 to 2020. The number of incident cases of pediatric T2D increased significantly more than the number of incident cases of pediatric T1D (P = 0.009). Patients with T2D were more likely to present in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), though this was not statistically significant (P = 0.093). Severe DKA was higher compared with moderate DKA (P = 0.036) in incident cases of pediatric T2D. During the pandemic, for the first time, incident cases of T2D accounted for more than one-half of all newly diagnosed pediatric diabetes cases (53%). Conclusions: There were more incident pediatric T1D and T2D cases as well as an increase in DKA severity in T2D at presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic. More importantly, incident T2D cases were higher than the incident T1D during the pandemic. This clearly suggests a disruption and change in the pediatric diabetes trends with profound individual and community health consequences.

Automated summary

The number of incident cases of pediatric type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a significant increase in T2D cases. The severity of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in T2D cases also increased.