Is COVID-19 Behind an Increase in Diabetes Cases?

Scientists are investigating a possible increase in diabetes¹ cases since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Diabetes is a condition in which the body cannot control sugars in the blood.

The scientists want to find out if COVID-19 has a connection with the increase or if it is a coincidence.

Increase in diabetes

A report from the Centers for Disease² Control and Prevention recently examined two large U.S. insurance databases³. The databases included information about new diabetes cases from March 2020 through June 2021.

The study found that diabetes was more common in children who had had COVID-19. The report did not look at the difference between Type 1 diabetes, which usually starts in childhood, and Type 2, the kind tied to being overweight.

Rates of both kinds of diabetes have risen in U.S. children in recent years. But reports from Europe and some U.S. hospitals suggest the rates may have increased more during the pandemic.

Dr. Inas Thomas of the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital said, "I think we're all a little worried."

Her hospital has seen a 30 percent increase in Type 1 diabetes, compared with the years before the pandemic, Thomas said. It is not known how many of the cases had COVID-19 at some point, but the timing⁴ raises concerns that there could be a connection, she said.

What causes diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes develops when the pancreas, an organ near the kidneys⁵, produces little or no insulin, a hormone⁶ that controls blood sugar. It is thought to involve an autoimmune reaction. That means the body's defense⁷ system attacks insulin-making cells in the pancreas. Patients must use manufactured⁸ insulin to deal with the condition.

Experts have believed for a long time that some earlier infection may set off that autoimmune reaction.

With COVID-19, "We don't know if it's a direct effect or some other factor that's not fully⁹ understood yet, but we are hoping that this trend may help us figure out the trigger¹⁰ for what causes Type 1 diabetes," Thomas said.

At Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, Type 1 diabetes cases jumped almost 60 percent during the first year of the pandemic, compared with the previous 12 months. Researchers recently reported the finding¹¹ in the medical publication¹² JAMA Pediatrics.

Just two percent of those children had had active COVID-19. The report did not have information on any previous infections. But the sharp increase was striking¹³ and "clearly there's a lot more work to be done to try to answer why is this happening,″ said Dr. Jane Kim. She co-wrote the report.

Type 2 diabetes mostly affects adults. It changes how the body uses insulin, leading to poorly controlled blood sugar. Causes are uncertain but genetics, too much weight, inactivity and unhealthy eating habits play a part. It can sometimes be treated or cured with lifestyle changes.

Around the world, more than 540 million people have diabetes, including about 37 million in the United States. Most have Type 2 diabetes. Many more have higher than normal blood sugar levels, or prediabetes.

Rising diabetes cases might reflect conditions involving pandemic restrictions¹⁴. These could include delayed medical care for early signs of diabetes or unhealthy eating habits and inactivity in people already at risk for Type 2 diabetes.

A diabetes center at Chicago's La Rabida Children's Hospital has seen an increase in prediabetes during the pandemic. Center co-director Rosemary Briars suspects long hours of online learning¹⁵ without physical activity played a part.

Dr. Rasa Kazlauskaite is a diabetes specialist at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center. She said steroid drugs that are sometimes used to reduce inflammation in hospitalized patients with infections including COVID-19 can cause blood sugar increases leading to diabetes. Sometimes the condition goes away after steroids are stopped, but not always, she said.

The physical stress of severe COVID-19 and other illnesses can also cause high blood sugar and temporary diabetes, she added.

Does the virus have an effect on insulin production?

Developing evidence suggests that the coronavirus — like some other viruses — can attack insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. That process might cause at least temporary diabetes in some people.

To learn more, scientists in Denmark are getting adults recently diagnosed¹⁶ with Type 1 diabetes to take part in a study. The study group includes some people who had COVID-19.

Over time, the researchers try to find out whether the condition progresses faster in those who had COVID-19. Such a study could help show how or if the infection might affect the development of diabetes, said researcher Dr. Morten Bjerregaard-Andersen. He is a diabetes specialist at the Hospital of South West Jutland.

"The theory is if you had COVID-19, then your own insulin production will be more compromised¹⁷ than if you weren't infected," Bjerregaard-Andersen said.

Words in This Story

coincidence – n. the occurrence¹⁸ of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection

autoimmune –adj. of or related¹⁹ to the system that protects the body against infection and disease

factor –n. something that helps produce or influence a result; one of the things that cause something to happen

trend – n. a general direction of change

reflect – v. to show (something) : to make (something) known

theory – n. an idea that is suggested or presented as possibly true but that is not known or proven to be true

1 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

2 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

3 databases   

n.资料库( database的名词复数 )；数据库；（贮存在计算机中的）数据库

参考例句：

• For example, this problem crops up frequently when querying databases. 例如，在查询数据库时，这一问题频频出现。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Databases of abstracts would eventually become redundant. 文摘数据库最终将成为多余。 来自辞典例句

4 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

5 kidneys   

肾形矿脉； 肾，肾脏( kidney的名词复数 )； （可食用的动物的）腰子

参考例句：

• The function of the kidneys is to excrete wastes from the body. 肾的功能是排泄人体里的废物。
• She got a very dangerous disease of kidneys. 她得了一种很危险的肾病。

6 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 manufactured   

adj.人造的v.（大规模）制造( manufacture的过去式和过去分词 )；捏造；加工；粗制滥造（文学作品）

参考例句：

• a news story manufactured by an unscrupulous journalist 一位不道德的记者编造的一篇报道
• We want the machine manufactured to our own spec. 我们要求这台机器按我们自己的规格来制造。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 trigger   

n.触发器，板机，制滑机；v.触发（事件）

参考例句：

• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again.他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。
• He pulled the trigger but the gun didn't go off.他打了一枪，没有发火。

11 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

12 publication   

n.出版，发行；出版；公布，发表

参考例句：

• They don't think this article is suitable for publication.他们认为这篇文章不宜发表。
• The government has delayed publication of the trade figures.政府已将贸易统计数字延后公布。

13 striking   

adj.显著的，惹人注目的，容貌出众的

参考例句：

• There is a striking difference between Jane and Mary.简和玛丽之间有显著的差异。
• What is immediately striking is how resourceful the children are.最令人注目的是孩子们的机智聪明。

14 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

15 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

16 diagnosed   

诊断( diagnose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some foetal malformations cannot be diagnosed until late in pregnancy. 有些胎儿的畸形部位得等到妊娠后期才能诊断出来。
• He diagnosed the trouble that caused the engine to knock. 他找出了引擎咔咔响的毛病所在。

17 compromised   

[医]妥协，让步的，缺乏抵抗力的，缺乏免疫力的，妥协的

参考例句：

• They compromised by going to the cinema. 他们采取折中的办法去看电影。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has compromised with its critics over monetary policies. 政府已经就货币政策向批评人士作出让步。 来自辞典例句

18 occurrence   

n.发生，出现，事件，发生的事件

参考例句：

• Two things account for its occurrence.发生这件事的原因有两个。
• For a military commander，winning or losing a battle is a common occurrence.胜败乃兵家常事。

19 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。