Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2025
Identifier
DOI: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2025-004964; PMCID: PMC12128418
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: In a cohort of families of school-age children (8-12.99 years old) with type 1 diabetes, we examined the stability of parent and child diabetes-related distress (DRD) over 6 months and the associations between parent and child DRD and child glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) over time.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We recruited families from two large pediatric hospital systems in the USA and used validated measures of parent (Parent Problem Areas in Diabetes-Child, PPAID-C) and child (Problem Areas in Diabetes-Child, PAID-C) DRD and children's HbA1c. We collected data at baseline and 6 months. We calculated minimal clinically important differences in PPAID-C and PAID-C to examine DRD stability and used a linear regression model to examine associations between PPAID-C and PAID-C scores and child HbA1c over time.
RESULTS: We recruited n=132 parent-child dyads (mean child age=10.23±1.5 years; 50% male, 86% non-Hispanic white). 60% of children and 55% of parents reported stable DRD levels, 20% of children and 14% of parents reported increasing DRD levels, and 20% of children and 31% of parents reported decreasing DRD levels from baseline to 6 months. In the regression model, child HbA1c and DRD scores at baseline significantly predicted child HbA1c 6 months later, β=0.013, t(157)=2.32, p=0.02.
CONCLUSIONS: Across 6 months, DRD remained stable or increased in 80% of school-aged children and 69% of parents. Only child HbA1c and DRD at baseline predicted higher child HbA1c 6 months later. Our results suggest it may be valuable to screen families of school-age children for DRD routinely and to develop treatments to help them reduce DRD.
Journal Title
BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care
Volume
13
Issue
3
MeSH Keywords
Humans; Child; Male; Female; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Glycated Hemoglobin; Blood Glucose; Parents; Stress, Psychological; Biomarkers; Follow-Up Studies; Prognosis; Time Factors
PubMed ID
40451286
Keywords
Children; Emotions; Hemoglobin A1c; Longitudinal Studies
Recommended Citation
Patton SR, Kahhan N, Milkes A, et al. Diabetes-related distress over time and its associations with glucose levels in school-aged children. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2025;13(3):e004964. Published 2025 Jun 1. doi:10.1136/bmjdrc-2025-004964
Comments
This article is available under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC 4.0 license and permits non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher's Link: https://drc.bmj.com/content/13/3/e004964