KUALA LUMPUR - A recent study by researchers in the United States shows Covid-19 may raise the risk of diabetes in children, setting off an alarm in the medical industry.
A team of researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), led by Dr Sharon Saydah, found children below the age of 18, recovered from Covid are likely to develop diabetes than those with no history of the viral infection.
In Malaysia, the health authorities has a reason to be concerned about the CDC’s findings reported on Jan 7. In a post on March 12, on its official Facebook account, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said admissions into the paediatric intensive care units among children diagnosed with category four and five increased by 94 percent.
Health experts have also expressed concern over the recent rise in type 1 diabetes cases among Malaysian children.
The CDC study found that the risk of developing diabetes was 166 percent higher in children who experienced Covid infection.
Medical journal - Diabetes Care reported an increase in type 1 diabetes cases among children in the United Kingdom when the pandemic peaked in 2020.
Prof Dr Muhammad Yazid Jalaludin, a senior consultant in paediatric endocrinology and diabetes at Universiti Malaya (UM), said although the incidence of diabetes among children in Malaysia is, in general, lower than that of Scandinavian nations and countries in the temperate zone, many paediatric endocrinologists in this country are, however, concerned over the higher number of children being diagnosed with diabetes now compared to the pre-pandemic period.
The deputy dean (Undergraduates) at the Faculty of Medicine, UM, told Bernama the experts that "looking at the current trend in other countries, an increase in cases of diabetes can possibly occur among children (infected by the COVID-19 virus)."
Explaining the link between Covid and diabetes, Yazid said the condition can occur as a result of a direct attack on the cells in the pancreas that have the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors and which could cause destruction to pancreas’ beta cells that produces insulin.
He said spikes in the blood glucose level can also occur as a result of a severe immune system response to an infection (cytokine storm) or changes in sugar metabolism due to infection, or as a result of a change from the prediabetes to diabetes stage.
Steroids used in the treatment of Covid can also cause the glucose level to rise, he said, adding that the risk posed by this hike is, however, temporary.
Yazid added that the rise in diabetes cases during the pandemic could also be attributed to the unhealthy eating habits of people who mostly stayed at home to prevent COVID-19 infection.
VACCINATION
He also said that since much is still unknown over the impact of Covid, it is best for people of all ages to get vaccinated.
He said the recent CDC study has reinforced the importance of vaccination, especially for children and high-risk groups.
"It’s important for the authorities to regularly put up public health messages highlighting the risks of Covid in children. These messages are important as they serve as a notification to medical practitioners and also parents that Covid could give rise to other diseases such as diabetes,” he said.
Health agencies and doctors also need to be aware of the long-term effects of Covid and must monitor their patients regularly to detect the development of diabetes, he added.
He also suggested that children aged below 18 with Covid undergo tests to detect diabetes and other possible illnesses. Among the symptoms that need to be taken heed of are frequent urination, increased thirst and hunger, fatigue, abdominal pain and nausea.
GET CHILDREN VACCINATED
Meanwhile, KPJ Selangor Specialist Hospital paediatrician and paediatric cardiologist Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail urged parents to get their children vaccinated against Covid-19.
He said parents are still concerned over the side effects of Pfizer-BioNTech’s Comirnaty vaccine, which is developed using mRNA technology. One of the reported side effects is myocarditis or inflammation of the heart muscle.
Dr Zulkifli said in the US, where 8.7 million doses of the Comirnaty vaccine have been administered to children aged five to 11, only 11 cases of heart inflammation were reported.
"All 11 cases reported were not serious and the children concerned returned home after two to three days. No deaths have been reported to date,” he said.
He said in the context of the COVID-19 vaccination, it will protect children against developing severe infection as well as the effects of long COVID and MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children) complications.
"And, if it’s true there is a strong link between Covid and diabetes as reported by CDC, then it is all the more important for parents to allow their children to be vaccinated,” he added.
As of March 9, about one million children in Malaysia aged between five and 11 - from the 1.63 million appointments scheduled since Feb 3 - have been vaccinated under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme for Children. - Bernama