Determinants of health-related quality of life in children and adolescents living with type 1 diabetes mellitus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mirjana Smudja, Tatjana Milenkovic, Ivana Minakovic and 3 others
PMID 37688291WHAT IT FOUND
During the pandemic, children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes reported worse self-rated health or quality of life with comorbidities, poor metabolic control, or human insulin; adherence was linked to better autonomy and overall quality of life.
Key findings
01Children and adolescents who adhered to glycaemic control reported better autonomy in free-time management and higher overall KidScreen27 scores.
02Respondents without comorbidities reported better peer social interaction, higher total KidScreen27 scores, and higher VAS health scores.
03Children and adolescents receiving human insulin reported lower peer support, lower school environment scores, lower total KidScreen27 scores, and higher anxiety/depression scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This was a cross-sectional survey, so it cannot show that adherence, comorbidities, metabolic control, or insulin type caused better or worse HRQOL. All measures were taken at one time, and the EQ-5D-Y reliability could not be assessed because questionnaires were administered only once. Participants were aged 8 to 18, had type 1 diabetes for at least 3 months, and had no cognitive problems, so findings do not cover younger children, newly diagnosed patients, or those with cognitive impairment. The study did not adjust for other factors that may travel with these groups, such as age, sex, duration, comorbidities, adherence, and insulin type, so differences cannot be assigned to one factor alone. Data were collected in Serbia during pandemic restrictions, so generalisability to other settings may be limited.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that human insulin, poor metabolic control, or non-adherence caused worse quality of life. The study measured these factors and quality of life at the same time in one group, so it cannot separate their effects or show cause.