Abstract
Objectives: Diabetes distress and depressive symptoms are common psychosocial concerns for people with diabetes. These are related, yet distinct, mood states, which have each been related to diabetes management and glycated hemoglobin (A1C) among adolescents and adults with diabetes. However, they have not been examined concurrently in preadolescents with type 1 diabetes. Understanding the overlaps and distinctions between diabetes distress and depressive symptoms in youth would help guide decisions about psychosocial screening in diabetes clinical practice. In this study, we aimed to categorize preadolescents based on clinical cutoffs of concurrently administered measures of depressive symptoms and diabetes distress, and identify clinical and demographic characteristics of each group. Methods: One hundred eighty youth (age range, 9 to 13 years; age [mean ± standard deviation], 11.3±1.3 years; 55% female; 56% Caucasian; mean A1C, 8.4±1.6% [68 mmol/mol]) completed measures of diabetes distress, depressive symptoms and quality of life. Daily blood glucose monitoring frequency was calculated from meter download. A1C values were obtained from electronic medical records. Results: Depressive symptoms and diabetes distress each significantly correlated with A1C and quality of life. Although most (69%) participants had no clinically significant elevations in either diabetes distress or depressive symptoms, 14% had elevated depressive symptoms only and 17% had elevated distress without concurrent elevated depressive symptoms. Groups differed based on A1C, quality of life and insurance status. Conclusions: Routine assessment of both depressive symptoms and diabetes distress may help to identify preadolescents with type 1 diabetes who require psychosocial support.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 436-443 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Canadian Journal of Diabetes |
Volume | 45 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2021 |
Funding
The authors thank the research staff and trainees who collected and managed the study data: Viena Cao, Teresa Falk, Kelly Fegan-Bohm, Wendy Hammerman, Farida Khetani, Alani Mays, Karen Elizabeth Shults and Courtney Titus. This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases ( K12 DK 097696 ; principal investigator: B. Anderson).
Keywords
- adolescents
- children
- health care delivery
- psychological aspects
- type 1 diabetes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Endocrinology
- Internal Medicine
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism