Changes in cardiovascular risk factors among children and young adults with type 1 diabetes during the COVID ‐19 pandemic compared to previous years—Results from the German DPV registry

Background: The diverse stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic led to several social circumstances that influenced daily life and health behavior.

Purpose: To evaluate changes in cardiovascular risk factors and physical activity among children and young adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Germany compared to previous years.

Methods: A total of 32 785 individuals aged 6–21 years at baseline with T1D from the German diabetes patient follow‐up (DPV) registry contributed data on 101 484 person‐years between 2016 and 2021. The first treatment year of each individual within this period was considered as baseline. Based on trends from 2016 to 2019, we estimated differences in body mass index‐SD score (BMI‐SDS), blood pressure (BP‐SDS), and lipid levels (non‐high‐density lipoprotein [non‐HDL]) between observed and predicted estimates for the years 2020 and 2021 using linear regression analysis standardized for age, diabetes duration, sex, and migratory background. The proportion doing organized sports and smoking cigarettes was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression models.

Results: BMI‐SDS increased constantly from 2016 to 2021 without a significant increase above expected values for 2020/2021. Systolic BP‐SDS (difference observed vs. expected with 95% confidence interval, 2020: 0.10 [0.07–0.14], 2021: 0.17 [0.14–0.20]) and non‐HDL (2020: 2.7 [1.3–4.1] mg/dl, 2021: 4.1 [2.7–5.5] mg/dl) were significantly increased (all p  < .001) in both pandemic years. The proportion of subjects participating in organized sports was reduced from over 70% in prepandemic years to 35%–65% in diverse stages/waves of the COVID‐19 pandemic. The percentage smoking cigarettes did not change.

Conclusions: We describe an increase in BP and atherogenic lipid levels coinciding with a reduction in physical activity but no acceleration of the prepandemic increases in BMI‐SDS among young people with T1D during the COVID‐19 pandemic.