The incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) in children and adolescents shot 57 and 60 percent in 2021, according to a study by the Health and Evaluation Agency of Catalonia (Aquas) with the participation of the Hospital del Mar (Barcelona).
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease that is characterized by the lack of insulin production by the pancreas, which causes an increase in blood glucose levels.
In some countries an increase in the incidence of type 1 diabetes had already been notified during the Covid-19 pandemic.Therefore, these researchers wanted to verify if this situation had also reproduced in Catalonia.Although the data focuses on this autonomous community, they could be relatively extrapolable for the rest of Spain.
Worldwide, a recently published analysis that included 24 studies and 5,671 new cases of type 1 diabetes in pediatric age, described a significant increase in the incidence of new cases during the Covid-19 Pandemia, of up to 19.73 cases for each100,000 children during 2019 and 32.39 per 100,000 children during 2020.
According to its findings, in 2020 the incidence did not increase significantly compared to the previous year, but by 2021 it increased by 28 percent, with 170 new cases observed more than expected.The greatest increases, in both years, occurred between people under 18 and women.
Thus, in 2020, the incidence of DM1 in children and adolescents was 32 percent higher than expected in normal years.The following year, he even shot at 57 and 60 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, in adults there was also a rise in cases, although with much more moderation.By sex, women experienced an increase in the incidence significantly higher than that of men in 2021 (60% compared to 12%).
Based on all these data, the researchers point out that during the Covid-19 pandemic there was a "notable and statistically significant increase" of the incidence of cases of type 1 diabetes mellitus in Catalonia, although they specify that "it is not possible to establish acausal relationship between pandemic and diabetes. "
Therefore, they conclude that "more studies are required to investigate the possible biological or social mechanisms that could explain this phenomenon and its clinical and health implications."
As possible limitations of the study, the study states that there is possible that there is a "infraregistro" or a delay in coding the new diagnoses during 2020 and 2022. "This may be motivated by the saturation of the health system that has existed in certainMoments of Pandemia, "they have riveted.