Relation of incident type 1 diabetes to recent COVID-19 infection: cohort study using e-health record linkage in Scotland

McKeigue, P. M., McGurnaghan, S., Blackbourn, L., Bath, L. E., McAllister, D. A. , Caparrotta, T. M., Wild, S. H., Wood, S. N., Stockton, D. and Colhoun, H. M. (2023) Relation of incident type 1 diabetes to recent COVID-19 infection: cohort study using e-health record linkage in Scotland. Diabetes Care, 46(5), pp. 921-928. (doi: 10.2337/dc22-0385) (PMID:35880797)

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Abstract

Objective: Studies using claims databases reported that SARS-CoV-2 infection >30 days earlier was associated with an increase in the incidence of type 1 diabetes. Using exact dates of diabetes diagnosis from the national register in Scotland linked to virology laboratory data, we sought to replicate this finding. Research Design and Methods: A cohort of 1,849,411 individuals aged <35 years without diabetes, including all those in Scotland who subsequently tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, was followed from 1 March 2020 to 22 November 2021. Incident type 1 diabetes was ascertained from the national registry. Using Cox regression, we tested the association of time-updated infection with incident diabetes. Trends in incidence of type 1 diabetes in the population from 2015 through 2021 were also estimated in a generalized additive model. Results: There were 365,080 individuals who had at least one detected SARS-CoV-2 infection during follow-up and 1074 who developed type 1 diabetes. The rate ratio for incident type 1 diabetes associated with first positive test for SARS-CoV-2 (reference category: no previous infection) was 0.86 (95% CI 0.62, 1.21) for infection >30 days earlier and 2.62 (95% CI 1.81, 3.78) for infection in the previous 30 days. However, negative and positive SARS-CoV-2 tests were more frequent in the days surrounding diabetes presentation. In those aged 0–14 years, incidence of type 1 diabetes during 2020–2021 was 20% higher than the 7-year average. Conclusions: Type 1 diabetes incidence in children increased during the pandemic. However, the cohort analysis suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infection itself was not the cause of this increase.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:McAllister, Professor David
Authors: McKeigue, P. M., McGurnaghan, S., Blackbourn, L., Bath, L. E., McAllister, D. A., Caparrotta, T. M., Wild, S. H., Wood, S. N., Stockton, D., and Colhoun, H. M.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health
Journal Name:Diabetes Care
Publisher:American Diabetes Association
ISSN:0149-5992
ISSN (Online):1935-5548
Published Online:26 July 2022

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