Mental and Social Health Status and its Association With Glycosylated Hemoglobin Level in Adolescents Aged 12- 18 Years With Type 1 Diabetes

Abstract

Background: Chronic diseases such as diabetes have significant effects on the mental and social health of patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the mental and social health status of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 52 T1 diabetic patients aged 12-18 years who referred to Yazd Diabetes Center in 2020. The patients were selected by simple random sampling. The data collection tool was the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) questionnaire, which contained 35 three-choice psychological questions about mental health. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22. Results: Totally, 31 (56.9%) and 21 (40.4%) of patients were males and females, respectively. The mean age of the subjects was 15.23 (±2) and the mean duration of diabetes was 6.19 (±3.56) years. Moreover, 48.1% of patients had a positive family history of diabetes. The mean of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was 8.05 (±1.62) and the mean of HbA1c in patients with psychosocial disorders was 8.74 (±0.08), which was significantly higher than that of subjects without psychosocial disorders (P=0.032). Conclusion: T1DM patients, whose blood sugar was not controlled, reported more mental health problems, thus it is essential to apply psychosocial health promotion strategies to these adolescents and their families.