Association of COVID-19 Infection With Incident Diabetes.

Importance: SARS-CoV-2 infection may lead to acute and chronic sequelae. Emerging evidence suggests a higher risk of diabetes after infection, but population-based evidence is still sparse. Objective: To evaluate the association between COVID-19 infection, including severity of infection, and risk of diabetes. Design, Setting, and Participants: This population-based cohort study was conducted in British Columbia, Canada, from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021, using the British Columbia COVID-19 Cohort, a surveillance platform that integrates COVID-19 data with population-based registries and administrative data sets. Individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2 by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were included. Those who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (ie, those who were exposed) were matched on sex, age, and collection date of RT-PCR test at a 1:4 ratio to those who tested negative (ie, those who were unexposed). Analysis was conducted January 14, 2022, to January 19, 2023. Exposure: SARS-CoV-2 infection. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was incident diabetes (insulin dependent or not insulin dependent) identified more than 30 days after the specimen collection date for the SARS-CoV-2 test with a validated algorithm based on medical visits, hospitalization records, chronic disease registry, and prescription drugs for diabetes management. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard modeling was performed to evaluate the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and diabetes risk. Stratified analyses were performed to assess the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 infection with diabetes risk by sex, age, and vaccination status. Results: Among 629 935 individuals (median [IQR] age, 32 [25.0-42.0] years; 322 565 females [51.2%]) tested for SARS-CoV-2 in the analytic sample, 125 987 individuals were exposed and 503 948 individuals were unexposed. During the median (IQR) follow-up of 257 (102-356) days, events of incident diabetes were observed among 608 individuals who were exposed (0.5%) and 1864 individuals who were not exposed (0.4%). The incident diabetes rate per 100 000 person-years was significantly higher in the exposed vs nonexposed group (672.2 incidents; 95% CI, 618.7-725.6 incidents vs 508.7 incidents; 95% CI, 485.6-531.8 incidents; P < .001). The risk of incident diabetes was also higher in the exposed group (hazard ratio [HR], 1.17; 95% CI, 1.06-1.28) and among males (adjusted HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.06-1.40). The risk of diabetes was higher among people with severe disease vs those without COVID-19, including individuals admitted to the intensive care unit (HR, 3.29; 95% CI, 1.98-5.48) or hospital (HR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.87-3.15). The fraction of incident diabetes cases attributable to SARS-CoV-2 infection was 3.41% (95% CI, 1.20%-5.61%) overall and 4.75% (95% CI, 1.30%-8.20%) among males. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with a higher risk of diabetes and may have contributed to a 3% to 5% excess burden of diabetes at a population level.

A population-based assessment of myocarditis after messenger RNA COVID-19 booster vaccination among adult recipients.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to estimate the rate of myocarditis after the messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 booster vaccination by vaccine type, age, and sex. METHODS: We used data from the British Columbia COVID-19 Cohort, a population-based cohort surveillance platform. The exposure was a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine. The outcome was diagnosis of myocarditis during hospitalization or an emergency department visit within 7-21 days of booster vaccination. RESULTS: The overall rate of myocarditis was lower for the booster dose (6.41, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.50-10.75) than the second dose (17.97, 95% CI: 13.78-23.04); (Rate ratiobooster vs dose-2 = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.17-0.61). This difference was more apparent for the mRNA-1273 vaccine type. After the second dose, the myocarditis rate in males was significantly lower for BNT162b2 than mRNA-1273 overall and among those aged 18-39 years. In contrast, after the booster dose, no significant differences between myocarditis and vaccine type was observed overall or within the specific age groups among males or females. CONCLUSION: Myocarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccines is a rare event. A lower absolute risk of myocarditis was observed after a booster dose of mRNA vaccine than the primary series second dose.

Observed versus expected rates of myocarditis after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: a population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Postmarketing evaluations have linked myocarditis to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines. We sought to estimate the incidence of myocarditis after mRNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, and to compare the incidence with expected rates based on historical background rates in British Columbia. METHODS: We conducted an observational study using population health administrative data from the BC COVID-19 Cohort from Dec. 15, 2020, to Mar. 10, 2022. The primary exposure was any dose of an mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. The primary outcome was incidence of hospital admission or emergency department visit for myocarditis or myopericarditis within 7 and 21 days postvaccination, calculated as myocarditis rates per 100 000 mRNA vaccine doses, expected rates of myocarditis cases and observedto-expected ratios. We stratified analyses by age, sex, vaccine type and dose number. RESULTS: We observed 99 incident cases of myocarditis within 7 days (0.97 cases per 100 000 vaccine doses; observed v. expected ratio 14.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] 10.83-16.55) and 141 cases within 21 days (1.37 cases per 100 000 vaccine doses; observed v. expected ratio 7.03, 95% CI 5.92-8.29) postvaccination. Cases of myocarditis per 100 000 vaccine doses were higher for people aged 12-17 years (2.64, 95% CI 1.54-4.22) and 18-29 years (2.63, 95% CI 1.94-3.50) than for older age groups, for males compared with females (1.64, 95% CI 1.30-2.04 v. 0.35, 95% CI 0.21-0.55), for those receiving a second dose compared with a third dose (1.90, 95% CI 1.50-2.39 v. 0.76, 95% CI 0.45-1.30) and for those who received the mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccine compared with the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine (1.44, 95% CI 1.06-1.91 v. 0.74, 95% CI 0.56-0.98). The highest observed-to-expected ratio was seen after the second dose among males aged 18-29 years who received the mRNA-1273 vaccine (148.32, 95% CI 95.03-220.69). INTERPRETATION: Although absolute rates of myocarditis were low, vaccine type, age and sex are important factors to consider when strategizing vaccine administration to reduce the risk of postvaccination myocarditis. Our findings support the preferential use of the BNT162b2 vaccine over the mRNA-1273 vaccine for people aged 18-29 years.

Comparative Risk of Myocarditis/Pericarditis Following Second Doses of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 Coronavirus Vaccines.

BACKGROUND: Postmarketing evaluations have linked myocarditis to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. However, few population-based analyses have directly compared the safety of the 2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the risk of myocarditis, pericarditis, and myopericarditis between BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273. METHODS: We used data from the British Columbia COVID-19 Cohort (BCC19C), a population-based cohort study. The exposure was the second dose of an mRNA vaccine. The outcome was diagnosis of myocarditis, pericarditis, or myopericarditis during a hospitalization or an emergency department visit within 21 days of the second vaccination dose. We performed multivariable logistic regression to assess the association between vaccine product and the outcomes of interest. RESULTS: The rates of myocarditis and pericarditis per million second doses were higher for mRNA-1273 (n = 31, rate 35.6; 95% CI: 24.1-50.5; and n = 20, rate 22.9; 95% CI: 14.0-35.4, respectively) than BNT162b2 (n = 28, rate 12.6; 95% CI: 8.4-18.2 and n = 21, rate 9.4; 95% CI: 5.8-14.4, respectively). mRNA-1273 vs BNT162b2 had significantly higher odds of myocarditis (adjusted OR [aOR]: 2.78; 95% CI: 1.67-4.62), pericarditis (aOR: 2.42; 95% CI: 1.31-4.46) and myopericarditis (aOR: 2.63; 95% CI: 1.76-3.93). The association between mRNA-1273 and myocarditis was stronger for men (aOR: 3.21; 95% CI: 1.77-5.83) and younger age group (18-39 years; aOR: 5.09; 95% CI: 2.68-9.66). CONCLUSIONS: Myocarditis/pericarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccines is rare, but we observed a 2- to 3-fold higher odds among individuals who received mRNA-1273 vs BNT162b2. The rate of myocarditis following mRNA-1273 receipt is highest among younger men (age 18-39 years) and does not seem to be present at older ages. Our findings may have policy implications regarding the choice of vaccine offered.

Heterogeneity and Risk of Bias in Studies Examining Risk Factors for Severe Illness and Death in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized the evidence on the impacts of demographics and comorbidities on the clinical outcomes of COVID-19, as well as the sources of the heterogeneity and publication bias of the relevant studies. Two authors independently searched the literature from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, and CINAHL on 18 May 2021; removed duplicates; screened the titles, abstracts, and full texts by using criteria; and extracted data from the eligible articles. The variations among the studies were examined by using Cochrane, Q.; I2, and meta-regression. Out of 11,975 articles that were obtained from the databases and screened, 559 studies were abstracted, and then, where appropriate, were analyzed by meta-analysis (n = 542). COVID-19-related severe illness, admission to the ICU, and death were significantly correlated with comorbidities, male sex, and an age older than 60 or 65 years, although high heterogeneity was present in the pooled estimates. The study design, the study country, the sample size, and the year of publication contributed to this. There was publication bias among the studies that compared the odds of COVID-19-related deaths, severe illness, and admission to the ICU on the basis of the comorbidity status. While an older age and chronic diseases were shown to increase the risk of developing severe illness, admission to the ICU, and death among the COVID-19 patients in our analysis, a marked heterogeneity was present when linking the specific risks with the outcomes.