The COVID-19 Pandemic Affects Seasonality, With Increasing Cases of New-Onset Type 1 Diabetes in Children, From the Worldwide SWEET Registry

OBJECTIVE: To analyze whether the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic increased the number of cases or impacted seasonality of new-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D) in large pediatric diabetes centers globally. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We analyzed data on 17,280 cases of T1D diagnosed during 2018-2021 from 92 worldwide centers participating in the SWEET registry using hierarchic linear regression models. RESULTS: The average number of new-onset T1D cases per center adjusted for the total number of patients treated at the center per year and stratified by age-groups increased from 11.2 (95% CI 10.1-12.2) in 2018 to 21.7 (20.6-22.8) in 2021 for the youngest age-group, <6 years; from 13.1 (12.2-14.0) in 2018 to 26.7 (25.7-27.7) in 2021 for children ages 6 to…