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CDC Pushes Flawed Study on Kids, COVID-19, and Diabetes

Is COVID-19 a cause of diabetes in children?With U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stating now that children with coronavirus might be at greater risk for developing diabetes due to the virus, it continues the scary COVID-19 list. However, the CDC study may have some flaws and reporting it on them could be misleading.

“Persons aged <18 years with COVID-19 were more likely to receive a new diabetes diagnosis >30 days after infection than were those without COVID-19 and those with prepandemic acute respiratory infections,” the CDC announced on January 7.

Two insurance databases were examined by researchers who found new diabetes diagnoses among children who had COVID-19. These numbers varied depending on which database was used. Children with COVID-19 were 116% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than children who had pre-COVID lung infections.

Sharon Saydah, a lead researcher for the CDC and author of the study, said The New York Times that the study—which did not distinguish between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes—illustrates the importance of getting kids vaccinated and of behaviors like wearing masks. The CDC summary states, in similar fashion, that the study highlights the importance COVID-19 prevention strategies for this age group.

These statements indicate that COVID-19 may be possible. causeChildren with diabetes.

There are many reasons to doubt the notion that COVID-19 is possible. CausesChildren with diabetes are more than just being related.

Vinay Prasad, a hematologist-oncologist and an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco, details some such reasons, calling the study “embarrassing.” Prasad first points out that the absolute number of children with COVID-19 who had also been diagnosed with diabetes in these databases was very low. One database had 68 of the 80,000 children with COVID-19, which is 0.08 percent. It’s 0.03 percent for those without COVID-19. The other showed that “the risk for diabetes after COVID19 was 0.25 percent (a quarter percent)” as compared with 0.19 percent in the case of children without COVID-19.

“The CDC trumpets this finding as ‘children and teens 18 years & younger who have had #COVID19You can get as high as 2.5 times more likelyYou can find out more about a #diabetes diagnosis after infection,'” notes Prasad. Is it a fair or fear-mongering take away?

Importantly, the study included only children who had received a COVID-19 official diagnosis and sought treatment for it. NotALL children with COVID-19. This could mean that the absolute risk may be smaller.

The CDC’s implication that causation is causal has at least a few other flaws. One is that it assumes the COVID-19 cohort of COVID-19-infected children are identical to the COVID-19 cohort. Prasad notes that COVID might be more prevalent in kids with lower socioeconomic standing, certain races and children who have been overweight, or are suffering from other medical conditions.

Children who have COVID-19 may be at greater risk for diabetes due to differences in their weight or family income.

Is there any attempt by the CDC to rectify these errors? Not at all,” notes Prasad. Prasad says, “They certainly have height and weight and could adjust to BMI. But they don’t.” It is truly a mystery to me why.

A second factor that can be confusing is the increased activity and weight gain seen in children during the pandemic. This could increase the likelihood of developing diabetes, regardless of whether or not a child has ever had COVID-19. It also explains why recent diagnosis rates have been higher than they were in previous years. Researchers point out that COVID-19 may have increased diabetes risk indirectly through pandemic-associated rises in body mass, which could be a risk factor both for serious COVID-19 illnesses and diabetes. “Future studies addressing the role of comorbidities and increases in body mass index in post–COVID-19 diabetes are warranted.”)

Children who are treated for COVID-19 could be required to undergo more testing than children who have been diagnosed with a different respiratory condition. These additional tests may lead to more diabetes diagnosis.

Still! It is possibleCOVID-19 is linked to diabetes in children. This study does not prove that.


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