Evaluation of psychological characteristics of Turkish children with type 1 diabetes mellitus from two demographically and geographically distinct regions

Abstract

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), patients have an increased risk of psychiatricmorbidity compared to their healthy counterparts. The aim of the presentstudy is to evaluate the demographic and laboratory data and psychologicalcharacteristics of children with T1DM from two geographical regions of Turkey.The study included 98 pediatric T1DM patients followed in pediatricendocrinology clinics from Diyarbakir (n=50), an eastern city and Antalya(n=48) a western city, and 43 healthy subjects from Diyarbakir (n=20) andAntalya (n=23). The sociodemographic data, duration of diabetes and theglycated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c) were also noted. For the evaluationof emotional and behavioral problems in children, Turkish version of TheChild Behavior Checklist (CBCL) 6-18, and for depression, Child depressioninventory (CDI) was used.Patients from the Diyarbakır Diabetes Mellitus (DDM) group had a longerduration of diabetes compared to those of the Antalya Diabetes Mellitus(ADM) group, while HbA1c levels were not statistically different. Children withT1DM from Diyarbakır reported higher problem scores in CBCL in majorityof domains and both internalizing and externalizing subscores compared tothe controls and in all domains compared to the patients from Antalya. TheCDI scores of the DDM group were also significantly higher than those ofthe ADM group.In conclusion, diabetic children from Diyarbakır had more problems inemotional, social and behavioral domains compared to the healthy peersand patients from Antalya, indicating that T1DM brought more psychosocialburden to these patients independently from the metabolic control. Pediatricspecialists working in the eastern region should be more precautious withdiabetic patients in terms of comorbid psychiatric conditions and psychiatricreferral when needed.