Aims

Evidence suggests that some people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) experience temporary instability of blood glucose (BG) levels after COVID-19 vaccination. We aimed to assess this objectively.

Methods

We examined the interstitial glucose profile of 97 consecutive adults (age≥18 years) with T1DM using the FreeStyle Libre® flash glucose monitor in the periods immediately before and after their first COVID-19 vaccination.

The primary outcome measure was percentage (%) interstitial glucose readings within the target range 3.9-10mmol/L for 7 days prior to the vaccination and the 7 days after the vaccination. Data are mean ± standard error.

Results

There was a significant decrease in the % interstitial glucose on target (3.9-10.0) for the 7 days following vaccination (mean 52.2% ± 2.0%) vs pre-COVID-19 vaccination (mean 55.0% ± 2.0%) (p=0.030). 58% of T1DM individuals showed a reduction in the ‘time in target range’ in the week after vaccination. 30% showed a decrease of time within the target range of over 10%, and 10% showed a decrease in time within target range of over 20%. The change in interstitial glucose proportion on target in the week following vaccination was most pronounced for people taking metformin/dapagliflozin + basal bolus insulin (change -7.6%) and for people with HbA1c below the median (change -5.7%).

Conclusion

In T1DM, we have shown that initial COVID-19 vaccination can cause temporary perturbation of interstitial glucose, with this effect more pronounced in patients talking oral hypoglycaemic medication plus insulin, and when HbA1c is lower.