Does covid19 effect people with type 1 diabetes disproportionally?
So what is Diabetes?
My name is Kaycee Yarger My dad is having my 4 other siblings and I make a project regarding the coronavirus and how it affects us kids. For my sister and I who have type 1 diabetes I thought it would be a great idea to research about how the coronavirus effects kids with Diabetes. For many kids like myself, Diabetes is a very scary thing in general to get. Diabetes has to do with your autoimmune system. Diabetics have a pancreas but it dosen't produce any insulin. This means we have to inject insulin manually through a shot or pump. This means we have to inject insulin to cover for carbohydrates we eat like bread or dessert. More information on type 1 diabetes https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type1.html.
When it comes to Diabetes many people think of type 2. Over the 34.2millon people with diabetes in 2018, 90-95% were type 2. Type 2 diabetes is when your body thinks blood sugar is a way to get energy. Then the cells won't respond to the insulin normally which is called insulin resistance. Then your pancreas will try to produce insulin so the cells will respond again. After that your pancreas will get tired, and cant handle producing so much insulin. After it gets tired you won't produce as much insulin making you have a high blood sugar. A high blood sugar is the start to getting type 2 diabetes. This usually starts at the age of 45. More information on type 2 diabetes https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type2.html.
What is the coronavirus?
When it comes down to what started the virus or what it is, there are all rumors about it. According to Fox news the corona virus started at a local wild animal trading center. Although Wuhan specialists said it actally started from a bat. The website states, "an outbreak in Wuhan, China, linked to a market selling seafood and live animals" (https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/coronavirus-and-diabetes#what-is-coronavirus).
So what are some symptoms?
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Fever *Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Chills *Repeated shaking with chills
Muscle pain *Headache
Sore throat *New loss of taste or smell
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learn more about symptons and how to get tested click the link.
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Type 2 v Type 1
Many people have diabetes in the United States and even around the world, but what does the coronavirus effect more? Both type 1 and type 2 have a high risk. Simply because when people have a high glucose level or blood sugar there immune system gets weaker, making people with diabetes not have as much protection. Although people with type 2 diabetes have a higher chance of getting the virus. Since the coronavirus spreads through the air, the virus has a higher chance of infecting older people. Type 2 diabetes is very common at the age of 45 or older, since you are getting weaker. This means that type 2 diabetics have a higher chance to get the virus than people or kids with type 1 diabetes.
My Opinion
As a type 1 diabetic for 9Â years now IÂ feel pretty confident in knowing what both types do and how to help in a helpful situation. It is hard to tell if type 1 or 2 is more common to get the virus, because we would have to test many people to get results that we dont have time to do. Now I believe type 2 diabetics have a higher chance to get the virus. The reason due to the fact that they are older and type 1 are young kids for the most part that can still fight off viruses. Type 2 diabetics have a weaker immune system and kids are still fresh and have healthy bones. Although that is what IÂ believe it may not be true.
