Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of New-onset Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 during the COVID -19 Pandemic in Children’s National Health Institute, Lima-Peru

Nuñez Almache, Oswaldo *

National Institute of Child Health (INSN), Perú and Federico Villarreal National University, Perú.

Pinto Ibarcena, Paola

National Institute of Child Health (INSN), Perú.

Del Aguila Villar, Carlos

National Institute of Child Health (INSN), Perú and Federico Villarreal National University, Perú.

Lu de Lama, Rómulo

National Institute of Child Health (INSN), Perú.

Chávez Tejada, Eliana

National Institute of Child Health (INSN), Perú.

Espinoza Robles, Oscar

National Institute of Child Health (INSN), Perú.

Calagua Quispe, Martha

National Institute of Child Health (INSN), Perú.

De Los Santos La Torre, Miguel

National Institute of Child Health (INSN), Perú.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.


Abstract

Objectives: To describe the clinical-epidemiological characteristics of new-onset Type 1 Diabetes (T1DM) during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic at the National Institute of Child Health (INSN).

Methods: Cross-sectional and retrospective study in patients under 18 years of age with new-onset T1DM and attended the INSN between March 2020 and April 2022. Data were obtained from medical records and were considered infected by SARS-CoV-2 if they had a positive RT-PCR or antigenic test in nasopharyngeal sample at the time of diagnosis. The frequency and severity were compared with institutional data for the five-year period 2015-2019. The results are shown as mean values ± SD or minimum and maximum ranges, and in frequencies and percentages; in addition, bivariate analysis was performed for the association between T1DM and SARS Cov2 infection.

Results: The cases in the two pandemic years showed an increase in contrast the previous five-year period; 69 patients debuted with T1DM (32 females); 46.4% during the first year and 53.6% during the second year; the age of most patients was between 6 and 11 years; most were pre-pubertal; 43.5% reported a time of illness of less than one month; the peaks of cases occurred in the spring months; 72.5% debuted with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA); HbA1c was higher than 10% in 58% of patients; and, in 26.1% COVID-19 infection was demonstrated; however, due to the small number of cases, no statistical association could be established.

Conclusions: There is evidence of an increase in the number of new-onset T1DM cases compared to the five-year period prior to the COVID 19 pandemic; important peaks of cases in the spring months; high average HbA1c values at disease onset; and a very high rate of DKA compared to the pre-pandemic period.

Keywords: Type 1 diabetes mellitus, COVID-19 pandemic, SARS Cov2, diabetic ketoacidosis


How to Cite

Oswaldo , Nuñez Almache, Pinto Ibarcena, Paola, Del Aguila Villar, Carlos, Lu de Lama, Rómulo, Chávez Tejada, Eliana, Espinoza Robles, Oscar, Calagua Quispe, Martha, and De Los Santos La Torre, Miguel. 2023. “Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of New-Onset Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 During the COVID -19 Pandemic in Children’s National Health Institute, Lima-Peru”. Asian Journal of Research and Reports in Endocrinology 6 (1):77-86. https://www.journalajrre.com/index.php/AJRRE/article/view/71.

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