Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine. (2026).2(154): 77-90. doi: 10.15574/SP.2026.2(154).7790
Odayskyi O. M., Mityuryayeva-Korniyko I. O.
Bogomolets National Medical University, Kyiv, Ukraine

For citation: Odayskyi OM, Mityuryayeva-Korniyko IO. (2026). Analysis of the impact of COVID-19 and the full-scale war in Ukraine on the development of diabetes mellitus in children (2011-2024). Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine. 2(154): 77-90. doi: 10.15574/SP.2026.2(154).7790.
Article received: Jan 12, 2026. Accepted for publication: Mar 16, 2026.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) remains one of the leading chronic endocrine diseases in childen. The COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale war in Ukraine have created a unique combination of immuno-inflammatory and stress-related factors that potentially affect the onset, course, and outcomes of DM in the pediatric population. Studying these factors is crucial for developing new approaches to prevention and medical management of children in crisis conditions.
Aim – to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale war on the incidence, hospitalization, mortality, and disability rates among children with DM in Ukraine through a comparative statistical analysis of epidemiological indicators from 2011 to 2024.
Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis of official statistical data was performed. Three time periods were analyzed: pre-COVID (2011-2019), pandemic COVID-19 (2020-2021), and war + COVID-19 (2022-2024).
Results. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the primary incidence of diabetes among infants increased by 53% compared with the pre-COVID period, and during the war years – by another 61%. A significant change in the sex distribution was observed, with a predominance of girls in 2020-2021 (73.7%) replaced by a predominance of boys in 2023-2024 (65.7%). Hospitalization rates for children aged 0-18 years nearly doubled (from 12.6 to 18.0 per 10,000 population) and in-hospital mortality tripled (from 0.39 to 18 per 1 million population). Primary disability increased from 1.4 to 2.3 per 10,000, and overal disability – from 9.4 to 19.6 per 10,000 population. The average hospital stay decreased from 10.8 to 8.2 days. These findings reflect the cumulative effect of psychosocial, social, and immunological stress on the severity of the DM course in children.
Conclusions. The COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale war in Ukraine have become powerful factors that significantly increased the incidence, disability, and mortality rates among children with DM and altered the sex-related features of the pathology. The results emphasize the urgent need to develop a national monitoring system for children with DM, ensure continuous insulin therapy, expand telemedicine technologies, and provide psychological support for children and families during crises.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Keywords: diabetes mellitus, children, COVID-19, war, hospitalization, disability, mortality, incidence.

REFERENCES:

1. Al-Roomi D, Srour M, Al-Amouri F, Badrasawi M. (2025). Exploratory study of the impact of war on management of type 1 diabetes mellitus among children in Gaza. East Mediterr Health J. 31(2): 109-115. https://doi.org/10.26719/2025.31.2.109; PMid:40116265

2. D'Souza Y, Empringham J, Pechlivanoglou P, Uleryk EM, Cohen E, Shulman R. (2023). Incidence of diabetes in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 14: 1287354. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.21281; PMid:37389869 PMCid:PMC10314307

3. Gebrekidan A, Haftu H, Hailu BY et al. (2024). The effect of war and siege on children with diabetes admitted to Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Tigray, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study. Sci Rep. 14: 25007. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76516-5; PMid:39443628 PMCid:PMC11499659

4. Gong B, Yang W, Xing Y, Lai Y, Shan Z. (2025). Global, regional, and national burden of type 1 diabetes in adolescents and young adults. Pediatr Res. 97: 568-576. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03107-5; PMid:38443523 PMCid:PMC12015108

5. Hormazábal-Aguayo I, Ramírez-Vélez R, Ezzatvar Y, Huerta-Uribe N, Izquierdo M, García-Hermoso A. (2024). Incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents under 20 years of age across 55 countries from 2000 to 2022: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 40(3): e3749. https://doi.org/10.1002/dmrr.3749; PMid:38037806

6. Imperatore G, Mayer-Davis EJ, Orchard TJ, Zhong VW. (2015). Prevalence and incidence of type 1 diabetes among children and adults in the United States and comparison with non-U.S. countries. Diabetes in America. 3rd Edition. 2-1-2-16. URL: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/about-niddk/strategic-plans-reports/diabetes-in-america.

7. International Diabetes Federation. (2025). IDF Diabetes Atlas. 11th ed. Brussels, Belgium: International Diabetes Federation. URL: https://diabetesatlas.org/media/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/IDF_Atlas_11th_Edition_2025.pdf.

8. Maidannyk VG, Bolshova OV, Mityuryayeva-Korniyko IO, Khaitovych MV, Dovhodko VV. (Eds.). (2025). Pediatrics by Maidannyk. Textbook. In 3 vols. Vol. 2. Pediatric endocrinology, developmental pediatrics: neurobehavioral and autonomic disorders. Lviv: Magnoliia 2006 Publishing House: 475.

9. Mityuryayeva IO, Burlaka EA, Volosovets OP, Kryvopustov SP et al. (2023). Evaluating the efficiency of medical care for children with diabetes mellitus in different regions of Ukraine over the past 20 years (2002-2021) of peacetime. Childs Health. 18(8): 545-551. https://doi.org/10.22141/2224-0551.18.8.2023.1653

10. Mityuryayeva-Korniyko IO, Volosovets OP, Kryvopustov SP et al. (2024). Epidemiological assessment of diabetes mellitus in children of Ukraine during the last 20 years (2002-2021) of peacetime. SAGE Open Med. 12: 20503121241255213. https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121241255213; PMid:39494160 PMCid:PMC11528758

11. Opendatabot. (2025). Birth and death statistics in Ukraine 2025 [Internet]. URL: https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/birth-death-2025.

12. Prorok NV, Boiko ST, Hnatiuk OV, Kupresva OI, Polyakova VI, Stolyarchuk OA et al. (2022). Psychological assistance to children under martial law: a handbook for preschool educators and teachers of general education institutions. Kyiv: H.S. Kostiuk Institute of Psychology, National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine: 155.

13. Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. (2024). Monitoring and statistics: Open medical data [Internet]. Kyiv: PHC. URL: https://phc.org.ua/monitoring-i-statistika/meddata.

14. Rosenbauer J, Stahl-Pehe A, Baechle C, Lanzinger S, Kamrath C et al. (2024). Spatiotemporal association between COVID-19 incidence and type 1 diabetes incidence among children and adolescents: a register-based ecological study in Germany. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 14: 1287354. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1287354; PMid:38234422 PMCid:PMC10791930

15. State Statistics Service of Ukraine. (2024). Demographic and census data [Internet]. Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. URL: http://db.ukrcensus.gov.ua/MULT/Dialog/statfile_c.asp.

16. UNICEF. (2024). Reports and publications: Ukraine [Internet].URL: https://www.unicef.org/ukraine/reports.

17. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (2024). Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX): Ukraine datasets [Internet]. URL: https://data.humdata.org/dataset.

18. Wu Z, Wang J, Ullah R, Chen M, Huang K et al. (2024). COVID-19 and diabetes in children: advances and strategies. Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome. 16: 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13098-024-01267-2; PMid:38287388 PMCid:PMC10823738