Home » Covid and type 1 diabetes, decompensated children risk more complications

Covid and type 1 diabetes, decompensated children risk more complications

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Diabetic children who struggle to control their blood sugar are at greater risk of complications from Covid-19. Conversely, the lockdown was the best time to reach the goal of full blood glucose control. These are, in a nutshell, the results of two studies presented during the Endo 2021 (Endocrine Society) congress taking place these days.

What is type 1 diabetes

Diabetes is a disease that afflicts 400 million people in the world (4 million in Italy) and is characterized by an increase in blood glucose levels. The disease is divided into two broad categories: type 1 – which affects about 10% of people with diabetes – generally occurs in childhood or adolescence. Those who suffer from it undergo the progressive destruction, by their immune system, of the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin. Type two, mainly linked to lifestyles.

How is it treated?

The turning point in the treatment of diabetes, especially type 1, totally dependent on insulin, came when, thanks to biotechnologies, it was possible to artificially produce the hormone in question. For years, however, the script has always been the same: continuous blood glucose measurements through “pricks” on the finger and subsequent injection of insulin under the skin. A scenario that has radically changed in recent years thanks to technology and in particular to the continuous monitoring of blood glucose.

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More complications from Covid-19 if you don’t check your blood sugar

Control, that of blood sugar, is even more essential in times of pandemics. In adults, for example, diabetes represents an important risk factor in the increase in complications and mortality from Covid-19. In children, on the other hand, there are not many data. In the study recently presented at the Endo 2021 congress, researchers from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s in Little Rock compared the health status of Covid-19 positive children with or without type 1 diabetes. that in children with a glycated hemoglobin value equal to or greater than 9 – or with poor glycemic control – complications from Covid-19 are 10 times higher than in children with glycated hemoglobin equal to 7 or less.

Better control during the pandemic

But if the little ones are more prone to complications from Covid-19 from not controlling their blood sugar, the positive aspect of the lockdown is that it has provided these people with a period to control their glucose levels more effectively. In fact, from the Endo 2021 congress it emerged that many more children reached the goal of control in the lockdown period compared to the pre-pandemic period. As explained by Neil Lawrence, Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and author of the study, “Managing type 1 diabetes in school is really challenging. Children with this disease need parents, teachers, and other health professionals to communicate well and work as a team to prevent long-term health complications. This study gives us important information on where to focus our efforts. Not only that, in the light of what has emerged, the use of telephone and video consultations should be encouraged. Approaches useful for both families and doctors “.

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