Description
Introduction. As multiple centres from different countries have reported increase in incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, no doubt SARS-CoV-2 has been suspected as potential cause of that. The aim of this research was to analyze exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and most common infectious agents that are already proven as potential inducers of T1D.Materials and methods. This was retrospective research including patients up to 18 years old with new-onset T1D who were hospitalized from August 2022 till January 2023. Data about previous infectious diseases were gathered in interviews, serology testing was performed to estimate seroprevalence of infectious agents.
Results. In total, 42 patients (54.8% boys) with mean age 8.64 (±4.52) years were included in this study. By the time of hospitalization, all of them were tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 and 8 (19%) patients had been vaccinated against COVID-19. According to parent questionnaire, 25 (59.5%) patients had laboratory approved SARS-CoV-2 infection, 5 (11.9%) had epidemiological data of possible COVID-19 infection before T1D manifestation, whereas serology testing showed positive SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 90.5% (n=38) of included patients. From the group of patients with known COVID-19 infection before, 48.3% have been infected within 6 months, but 96.5% - within 12-month period before T1D, with median time 28 (24-40) weeks before T1D. Serology testing revealed, that besides SARS-CoV-2 virus, next most commonly detected were Epstein-Barr virus (54.8%), Parvo-B19 virus (45.2%), Cytomegalovirus and Influenza A (35.7%), but less commonly – enteroviruses (ECHO, Coxsackie, 16.7%).
Conclusions. Although SARS-CoV-2 has been detected as most common virus that patients with new-onset T1D have been exposed, it’s role in possible influence of development of T1D is not clear, and further studies, including other risk factor analysis should be continued.
| Period | 8 May 2023 → 12 May 2023 |
|---|---|
| Event title | 41st Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID |
| Event type | Conference |
| Conference number | 41 |
| Location | Lisbon, PortugalShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |