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World J Clin Pediatr. Sep 9, 2022; 11(5): 408-418
Published online Sep 9, 2022. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v11.i5.408
Children with type 1 diabetes in COVID-19 pandemic: Difficulties and solutions
Yue Shi, Li-Qun Wu, Peng Wei, Ze-Huan Liao
Yue Shi, Li-Qun Wu, Second Clinical Medical College, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100078, China
Peng Wei, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
Ze-Huan Liao, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore
Ze-Huan Liao, Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden
Author contributions: Shi Y drafted the review and performed the majority of the writing; Wu LQ, Wei P, and Liao ZH contributed to the writing and editing of the manuscript; Liao ZH accepted the editor invitation, conceptualized the topic, and proofread the manuscript; both Wei P and Liao ZH provided supervision and approved the submission of this minireview.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare no conflict of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ze-Huan Liao, BSc, Teaching Assistant, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, No. 60 Nanyang Distinct, Singapore 637551, Singapore. liao0058@e.ntu.edu.sg
Received: February 26, 2022
Peer-review started: February 26, 2022
First decision: April 17, 2022
Revised: June 1, 2022
Accepted: August 22, 2022
Article in press: August 22, 2022
Published online: September 9, 2022
Abstract

Children/adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) require holistic approach and continuous care. However, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made challenges for the T1D children and their caregivers, professionals, and the healthcare system. This minireview aims to consolidate and discuss the difficulties and solutions of children with type 1 diabetes in the COVID-19 pandemic. T1D has been the most common type of diabetes in children and adolescents and the last decades has seen a rapid increase in the prevalence of T1D in youths worldwide, which deserves a public concern particularly in the COVID-19 pandemic. As reported in previous studies, T1D is a risk factor related to severe cases, while the virus may induce new-onset diabetes and serious complications. Moreover, restriction strategies influence medical availability and lifestyle, impact glycemic control and compilation management, and thus pose stress on families and health providers of youths with T1D, especially on those with certain fragile conditions. Therefore, special treatment plans are required for children provided by caregivers and the local health system. Latest health tools such as improved medical devices and telemedicine service, as well as a combined support may benefit in this period. This minireview emphasises that continued medical access and support are required to prevent deteriorated condition of children and adolescents with diabetes throughout this pandemic. Therefore, strategies are supposed to be formulated to mitigate the difficulties and stress among this group, particularly in the most at-risk population. Proposed solutions in this minireview may help individuals and the health system to overcome these problems and help youths with T1D in better diabetes management during such emergency situations.

Keywords: Type 1 diabetes, Pediatrics, COVID-19 pandemic, Diabetes management, Glycemic control, Telemedicine

Core Tip: There are several reviews in the literature discussing the difficulties or solutions to the life of children with type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, this is the first review to collect and analyse the latest studies on which sub-groups of children with T1D are more likely to be influenced, how the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic affects the treatment of children with T1D and the life of their caregivers, and what measures are supposed to be applied to deal with these dilemmas.