Early onset diabetes: parents' views.
During 1990-91 postal questionnaires were sent to the parents of 309 children living in the United Kingdom who developed diabetes before the age of 2 years during 1972-1981. The aim of the survey was to explore how they had coped with their child's condition. Completed questionnaires were returned by 85% of parents. The children had a mean age of 14 (range 9-19) years and diabetes for a mean duration of 13 (range 9-18) years. The cohort's mean age for starting self-injection was reported to be 8 years and most of the children (82%) were still attending full-time education. Diabetes-related difficulties of school were reported for 34% (95% C I 28-40) of the children and 70 (27%, 95% C I 22-32) were estimated to have missed more schooldays than their peers. With increasing duration of diabetes, parents expressed a reduction in anxiety about practical aspects of management such as injections and monitoring, but concern about hypoglycaemia and long-term vascular complications remained high. Parents of girls were more likely to express worries compared to parents of boys, and this excess was significant for worry about diet (chi 2 1df = 17.021, p < 0.001). The paediatric diabetes team caring for early diagnosed children should be aware of the need to discuss the long-term implications of the disorder and be sensitive to the transition period when the child takes progressively more responsibility for self management and the parent's role diminishes.
Parker
H
H
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Leicester, UK.
Swift
P G
PG
Botha
J L
JL
Raymond
N T
NT
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012648:Self Care; D012917:Social Adjustment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D007328:Insulin