Home Medicine Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on presentation and referral patterns of newly diagnosed children with type 1 diabetes in a developing country
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Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on presentation and referral patterns of newly diagnosed children with type 1 diabetes in a developing country

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Published/Copyright: May 24, 2022

Abstract

Objectives

The global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), had a great impact on patients worldwide, including those with chronic diseases. We aim to study the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on presentation patterns of patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in Jordan, as an example a developing country with limited resources.

Methods

Medical charts were reviewed for patients presented with new-onset T1D to Jordan University hospital during the first year of pandemic and the preceding year. Categorical data were compared using Pearson Chi-Square and Fisher’s exact test. Continuous data were compared using the Independent Sample t-Test.

Results

A total of 137 children were diagnosed with T1D during the study period, with 60.6% of those children were diagnosed in the pre-pandemic year compared to 39.4% during the first year of pandemic, p-value=0.013. Percentage of patients diagnosed with DKA as first presentation of T1D during the pre-pandemic year was 34.9% compared to 51.9% during the pandemic year, p-value=0.049. Significant differences in family monthly income (p-value=0.006) and paternal education level (p-value=0.036) were found between children with DKA and those without DKA in the pre-pandemic year, but they were not significant during the pandemic year.

Conclusions

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic had affected presentation pattern of newly diagnosed T1D patients, manifested by lower number of children diagnosed with T1D and higher percentage of DKA as first presentation compared to the preceding year. Health care services should be at utmost preparedness for possible future waves and other pandemics.


Corresponding author: Abeer Alassaf, MD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan, Phone: +962 6 5353444, extn 2767, Fax: +962 6 5356746, E-mail:

  1. Research funding: None declared.

  2. Author contribution: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  3. Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.

  4. Informed consent: Not applicable. This was retrospective chart review study.

  5. Ethical approval: Study was approved by Jordan University Hospital Research Ethics Board (no.: 107/2021).

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Received: 2022-03-15
Accepted: 2022-04-28
Published Online: 2022-05-24
Published in Print: 2022-07-26

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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