Epic Research is not viewable using Internet Explorer. Please try accessing it with an alternate browser.
Cosmos Study

COVID-19 No Worse for Triggering Type 1 Diabetes Than Influenza

Abstract: Type 1 diabetes diagnosed following COVID-19 infection at similar rates to influenza.
July 16, 2021
Dual-Team Study
Team A:Jeff Trinkl, MDLily Rubin-Miller, MPHDan Gruett
Team B:Johnston Thayer, RNKieran Gallagher, MPHRachel Kutner, MA

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that can be triggered by viral infections.1 Recent studies have hypothesized that the COVID-19 pandemic might cause a global surge in diabetes diagnoses beyond what we typically see for patients with respiratory infections.2

Our data, however, showed similar rates of new type 1 diabetes diagnoses in COVID-19 admitted patients compared to admitted patients with an influenza diagnosis. As a baseline, we also examined rates of new diabetes diagnoses in patients admitted for trauma, which were slightly lower than rates in patients with COVID-19 or influenza diagnoses. Our results suggest that COVID-19 shares a similar risk profile for a new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes as other viral infections.

Figure 1
Type 1 Diabetes Diagnoses After COVID-19, Influenza, and Trauma
Type 1 Diabetes Diagnoses After COVID-19, Influenza, and Trauma
Figure 1. The percentage of patients with a new type 1 diabetes diagnosis within 90 days of admission, by admission diagnosis.

These data come from Cosmos, a HIPAA Limited Data Set of more than 111 million patients from Epic customers. This study was completed by two teams, each comprised of a clinician and two research scientists, who worked independently. The two teams came to similar conclusions. Data for this study are pooled from 58 healthcare organizations representing 257 hospitals in 40 states and cover 2.9 million patients.

References

  1. Ruiz PLD, Tapia G, Bakken IJ, et al. Pandemic influenza and subsequent risk of type 1 diabetes: a nationwide cohort study. Diabetologia. 2018;61(9):1996-2004. doi:10.1007/s00125-018-4662-7
  2. Caruso P, Longo M, Esposito K, Maiorino MI. Type 1 diabetes triggered by covid-19 pandemic: A potential outbreak?. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2020;164:108219. doi:10.1016/j.diabres.2020.108219