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Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter January 17, 2022

Role of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the appearance of new onset type 1 diabetes mellitus in children in Gran Canaria, Spain

  • Yeray Nóvoa-Medina ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Svetlana Pavlovic-Nesic , Jesús Ma González-Martín , Araceli Hernández-Betancor , Sara López , Angela Domínguez-García , Sofía Quinteiro-Domínguez , María Cabrera , Araceli De La Cuesta , Elisabeth Caballero-Fernández , María A. González-Perera , Isabel De Miguel-Martínez , Graham D. Ogle and Ana M. Wägner

Abstract

Objectives

It has been hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 may play a role in the development of different forms of diabetes mellitus (DM). The Canary Islands have the highest incidence of type 1 DM (T1DM) reported in Spain (30–35/100,000 children under 14 years/year). In 2020–2021 we observed the highest incidence so far on the island of Gran Canaria, as a result of which we decided to evaluate the possible role of COVID-19 in the increased number of onsets.

Methods

We examined the presence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in children with new onset T1DM between October 2020 and August 2021. We compared recent T1DM incidence with that of the previous 10 years.

Results

Forty-two patients were diagnosed with T1DM (48.1/100,000 patients/year), representing a nonsignificant 25.7% increase from the expected incidence. Of the 33 patients who consented to the study, 32 presented negative IgG values, with only one patient reflecting undiagnosed past infection. Forty-four percent of patients presented with ketoacidosis at onset, which was similar to previous years.

Conclusions

We conclude that there is no direct relationship between the increased incidence of T1DM and SARS-CoV-2 in the region. The COVID-19 pandemic did not result in an increased severity of T1DM presentation.


Corresponding author: Yeray Nóvoa-Medina, Pediatric Endocrinology Unit, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario Insular Materno Infantil, Las Palmas de GC, Av. Marítima s/n, 928308611 Canary Islands, Spain; Asociación Canaria para la Investigación Pediátrica (ACIP canarias), Canary Islands, Spain; and Instituto Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Sanitarias (IUIBS), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), Canary Islands, Spain, E-mail:

Funding source: Fundación DISA

Award Identifier / Grant number: OA20/024

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Fundación DISA for their support in the execution of this project.

  1. Research funding: This research was funded by Fundación Disa, project number OA20/024. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. 2020. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

  2. Author contributions: YNM was responsible for fundraising, design, coordination, data collection and writing the paper. JM was responsible for data analysis. SPN and SL collaborated in data collection. AHB performed the serologic analysis and contributed to the final version of the manuscript. GO and AW made major contributions to the final version of the manuscript. All authors whose names appear on the submission: 1) made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; 2) drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content; 3) approved the version to be published; and 4) agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  3. Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.

  4. Informed consent: Written consent was obtained from a parent or guardian for all participants.

  5. Ethical approval: The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of Las Palmas University Hospital Dr. Negrín (protocol code 2021-289-1, approved on July 30th 2021).

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Received: 2021-12-03
Accepted: 2022-01-01
Published Online: 2022-01-17
Published in Print: 2022-03-28

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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