Ann Robinson’s research reviews—14 September 2023

Covid, babies, and type 1 diabetesThere’s been a reported rise in diabetes in children since the covid pandemic, and, although some of that rise might be a backlog in accessing care, it is unclear whether covid itself has triggered diabetes, especially in those who are genetically susceptible.In this European longitudinal cohort study of 885 infants with a high (>10%) genetic risk of type 1 diabetes, islet autoantibodies (IAbs)—a harbinger of diabetes development within 10 years—were substantially more likely to develop in those who had had covid (demonstrated by covid antibodies) than in those who hadn’t (7.8 v 3.5 per 100 person-years). Peak vulnerability for developing IAbs in response to viral infection is thought to be around 12 months, which was borne out in this study. Although there was a spike in IAbs associated with covid infection, overall there was no rise in IAbs during the pandemic period, probably because there…
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