title: The influence of an educational program on the HbA(1c)-level of adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a retrospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Adherence to diabetes management tasks in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients deteriorates during puberty. This causes glycemic dysregulation, which accelerates the development of long-term complications.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data of 25 poorly regulated T1DM-patients were compared before and 3 and 9 months after a psycho-educational program. Data were extracted from patient's records. The psycho-educational program consisted of three sessions for the patients and one for the parents in a 3-month period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HbA(1c)-levels at baseline (10.0 +/- 0.72%), decreased by 0.65% after 9 months follow-up (p = 0.08). A subgroup of 15 patients showed a clinical significant HbA(1c)-reduction of > or = 0.5% at 9 months follow-up (subgroup A), with a mean reduction of 1.6%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These encouraging results show that a psychoeducational program can be of benefit in improving HbA(1c)-levels in poorly regulated adolescents with T1DM. More research with a larger population is necessary to evaluate the value of psycho-educational programs in this age-group.
authors.affiliation: Groene Hart Hospital, Gouda, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verbeek
authors.forename: Rimke C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Vos
authors.forename: Dick
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mul
authors.forename: Mieke E C A M
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Houdijk
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D037001:Directive Counseling / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human