Every year thousands of children are diagnosed with diabetes

(American Diabetes Association, 2009).

My son, Connor, was diagnosed when he was 5 years old. Is he susceptible

to depression?

American Diabetes Association (2009). Retrieved Online May 13, 2009 from www.diabetes.org

What causes depression in type 1 diabetics?

Why is it important to understand this issue?

What can be done to prevent depression in

adolescents with type 1 diabetes?

Are there any common indicators in these

children at risk?

Children can be diagnosed at a very young age

and after having diabetes for several years, may

begin to exhibit signs of depression and anxiety

over the fact that they have to deal with this

disease for the rest of their lives.

In the Diabetes Care Clinical Care Guidelines it states a link between glycemic control and duration of diabetes in children. Glycemic control is then compared to the percentage of children and adolescents who experience anxiety and depression specific to glycemic control.

Other factors such as care settings, parental status and socioeconomic status have also been indicated to affect the population that is affected by anxiety and depression (Diabetes Care, 2009).

Does a child who is diagnosed at a very young age have greater likelihood of suffering from depression in their teen years, or does a newly diagnosed teenager have a greater chance of experiencing conflict and depression?

Is depression in diabetes associated more with one gender than another?

For individuals with type 1 diabetes, adolescence is often associated with neglect of self-monitoring and lack of diabetes management. Generally speaking, this begins to occur between the ages of 13-14, while peaking at ages 17-19 (Pediatric Diabetes, 2007).

The immaturity of adolescents’ problem solving skills and maturational processes of life stage changes are often the ignition to such behavior and psychosocial changes.

Key indicators of at risk adolescents:

Age at onset of diabetes

Duration of chronic disease

Family dynamics (divorce, separated,

siblings)

Gender

Quality of care (quarterly visits

including use of social workers and

nutritionists)

Characteristics of depression in adolescents

with type 1 diabetes include:

A1c values >8.5%

Loss of interaction

Lack of diabetes management

Skipping injections or blood glucose

testing

Combativeness

ConclusionThere are many factors involved in the likelihood of adolescents with type 1 diabetes suffering from depression and anxiety. It is important to identify those most likely to suffer from these symptoms to be able to more quickly validate and hopefully prevent additional symptoms that the patients and families may experience. Through early prevention, there is hope that those already suffering from a chronic illness will not have more suffering to deal with and will be given the best possible care by the providers.

Early detection can save a life.