In children, Covid is tied to higher risk of type 2 diabetes

Overall risk of new diagnosis remains small, but study suggests watching kids at risk

It may be time to add Covid-19 infection to the list of possible risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes at a young age.

An observational study published Monday in JAMA Network Open found that children and adolescents were one-and-a-half times more likely to be diagnosed with the metabolic disorder in the months after having Covid-19 compared to similar kids who weathered other respiratory infections. Children with obesity were twice as likely to have new type 2 diabetes post-Covid and those who were sick enough to be hospitalized were almost three times as likely to do so.

The absolute risk of type 2 being diagnosed in any child remained well under one percentage point. But the increased risk was considered significant: Of the 306,801 children studied, 398 in the Covid group received a type 2 diagnosis, compared to 252 who had not had Covid.