New Rochelle, NY, March 4, 2021—Diabetes is a risk factor for severe symptoms, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 disease. The prevalence of COVID-19 antibodies in persons with new-onset type 1 diabetes or those with established disease did not differ significantly from that in the general population of children and adults, according to a new report in the peer-reviewed journal Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT). Click here to read the article now.

Liping Yu, at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and colleagues developed a highly sensitive and specific test to detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. They found no significant difference in antibody levels between individuals with diabetes and those in the general population. They did report a small difference between persons with established type 1 diabetes and new-onset type 1 diabetes.

“While the prevalence of COVID-19 antibodies in persons with established type 1 diabetes was not significantly higher than in those newly diagnosed, a small difference (4.3% vs. 0.8%) could be due to the older age of these individuals or diabetes being a potential risk factor for COVID-19 disease,” concluded the authors.

Editor-in-Chief of Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics Satish Garg, MD, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, states: “Presence of diabetes (especially with poor glucose control) is associated with higher morbidity and mortality with COVID-19. The authors conclusions are important that antibody levels are similar to COVID infection in patients with type 1 diabetes when compared with the general population. It will also be important to see if the antibody response to available COVID vaccines is similar.”

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers DK108868, DK032083, DK099317, and DK116073. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

 

About the Journal
Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT) is a monthly peer-reviewed journal that covers new technology and new products for the treatment, monitoring, diagnosis, and prevention of diabetes and its complications. Led by Editor-in-Chief Satish Garg, MD, University of Colorado Denver (Aurora), the Journal covers topics that include noninvasive glucose monitoring, implantable continuous glucose sensors, novel routes of insulin administration, genetic engineering, the artificial pancreas, measures of long-term control, computer applications for case management, telemedicine, the Internet, and new medications. Tables of contents and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT) website. DTT is the official journal of the Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD) Conference.

 

About ATTD
The Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes Conference (ATTD) presents top caliber scientific programs that have provided participants with cutting-edge research and analysis into the latest developments in diabetes-related technology. A unique and innovative conference, ATTD brings the world’s leading researchers and clinicians together for a lively exchange of ideas and information related to the technology, treatment, and prevention of diabetes and related illnesses.

 

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Thyroid, Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery, Childhood Obesity, and Population Health Management. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.