Paediatric type 2 diabetes presentation and trends four years pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

Yee Lin LEE; Nalini M SELVEINDRAN; Fatin Farihah NASIR; Azriyanti Anuar ZAINI; Nurshadia SAMINGAN; Poi Giok LIM; Muhammad Yazid JALALUDIN

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Paediatric type 2 diabetes presentation and trends four years pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

Author: Yee Lin LEE ¹ ; Nalini M. SELVEINDRAN ² ; Fatin Farihah NASIR ² ; Azriyanti Anuar ZAINI ³ ; Nurshadia SAMINGAN ³ ; Poi Giok LIM ⁴ ; Muhammad Yazid JALALUDIN ³
Author Information

1. Paediatrics Department, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
2. Paediatrics Department, Hospital Putrajaya, Malaysia
3. Paediatrics Department, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, Malaysia
4. Paediatrics Department, Hospital Tunku Azizah, Malaysia
Publication Type:Journal Article, Original
MeSH: Human; Covid-19; Diabetic Ketoacidosis; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Obesity
From: Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies 2025;40(2):33-39
CountryPhilippines
Abstract: BACKGROUND
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rise in the incidence of obesity both in children and adults. Studies on the effect of the pandemic on Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) trends in children are limited. In this study, we aim to evaluate the frequency, clinical characteristics and demographics of newly-diagnosed paediatric T2DM cases 4 years before and after the pandemic.
METHODOLOGY
The frequency and clinical data of patients aged ≤18 years with newly-diagnosed T2DM in 4 tertiary centers in urban Malaysia from 18 March 2016 till 17 March 2020 (pre-pandemic) and 18 March 2020 till 17 March 2024 (postpandemic) was collected.
RESULTS
Seventy-five (75) patients were recorded with newly-diagnosed T2DM pre-pandemic and fifty-four (54) patients were recorded with newly-diagnosed T2DM post-pandemic. There was no significant increase in T2DM cases and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) during pandemic and T2DM cases fell to below pre-pandemic levels in the 3rd and 4th year postpandemic. HbA1c and serum glucose were lower post-pandemic than pre-pandemic: 10.1% vs 11.9%, p = 0.008 and 12.0 mmol/L vs 16.1 mmol/L, p = 0.038 respectively.
CONCLUSION
The incidence of T2DM and DKA did not increase during the pandemic and further declined in year 3 and 4 post-pandemic. Lower HbA1c and serum glucose in the post-pandemic group may suggest improved screening services and greater access to medical care.