Psychiatric Comorbidities in Pediatric Monogenic Diabetes due to GCK Mutation: Impact on Diabetes-Related Quality of Life.

BACKGROUND: Monogenic diabetes caused by mutation in the glucokinase gene (GCK-MD) is a rare disorder manifesting in childhood as mild, prevalent hyperglycemia. By consensus, it is managed by dietary supervision and infrequent consultations. However, its impact on the mental health of the affected children is largely unknown. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in children with monogenic glucokinase-related diabetes (GCK-MD) and evaluate their association with quality of life (QoL). METHODS: The study invited children with GCK-MD aged 5-18 years identified in the Central National Registry and treated in 3 pediatric diabetes centers in Poland. The control group comprised children with type 1 diabetes (T1D, the most common diabetes type in youth) matched for age and family history of diabetes. Participants underwent a semistructured clinical interview diagnostic for psychiatric comorbidities, questionnaires assessing behavioral problems, depressive symptoms, parental stress, and measuring general and diabetes-related QoL (PedsQl). RESULTS: We included 35 patients with GCK-MDMD and 199 with T1D. Eight (22.9%) GCK-MD patients were diagnosed with psychiatric disorder in their lifetime, compared with 16 (8.1%) in the T1D group (odds ratio 3.4 [95% confidence interval: 1.3-8.7]). Patients with GCK-MD showed better parent-reported general QoL (87.1 ± 11.9 vs 82.0 ± 14.0, P = 0.0060) and higher diabetes-related QoL in both parental (84.5 ± 13.8 vs 74.1 ± 15.2, P < 0.0001) and child's perspective (87.6 ± 10.9 vs 77.3 ± 13.9, P < 0.0001). Psychiatric disorders (+P) were associated with worse child-reported diabetes QoL (T1D+P 66.6 ± 16.7, T1D-P 78.2 ± 13.3, GCK-MD+P 79.6 ± 16.3, GCK-MD-P 90.1 ± 7.5, P = 0.0002). CONCLUSIONS: High prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children with GCK-MD and lower QoL emphasizes the need for psychologic surveillance in those otherwise mildly-treated patients.

Psychiatric Disorders and Health-Related Quality of Life in Children With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic condition with major effect on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and mental health. In 1990s, high rates of psychiatric disorders were reported among children with T1DM. Little is known, however, about current prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children with T1DM and the relation between psychiatric diagnosis and HRQoL. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition, Text Revision) psychiatric disorders and the association between psychiatric comorbidity and HRQoL in the pediatric population with T1DM. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 207 children, aged 8-18 years, diagnosed with T1DM. The presence of psychiatric disorders has been assessed by the standard diagnostic interview according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition, Text Revision) criteria. HRQoL was measured by the general and diabetes mellitus-specific modules of the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory. RESULTS: Of the evaluated patients, 26.6% (N = 55) met the criteria for psychiatric disorders at the time of evaluation. The most common diagnoses were anxiety (N = 32; 15.5%) and mood disorders (N = 8; 3.9%). One-third of the patients (N = 66, 31.9%) met the criteria for at least 1 psychiatric diagnosis in their lifetime. The presence of psychiatric disorders was related to an elevated hemoglobin A1c level (8.6% vs 7.6%) and a lowered HRQoL level in the general pediatric quality of life inventory. In the diabetes mellitus-specific pediatric quality of life inventory, children with psychiatric disorders revealed more symptoms of diabetes mellitus, treatment barriers, and lower adherence than children without psychiatric disorders. CONCLUSIONS: T1DM in children is associated with a very high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity, which is related to elevated hemoglobin A1c and lower HRQoL levels.

Maternal depressive symptoms predict acute hospitalization among children with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to examine the impact of a mother's depressive symptoms on the risk of hospital admission of her child due to severe hypoglycemia or diabetic ketoacidosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred sixty-six mothers of children with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) were evaluated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). All of the children were studied prospectively for acute diabetic complications. The optimal thresholds of HDRS mother's scores for prediction of the risk of child hospitalization were identified using the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis. The time to hospital admissions were compared using the log-rank test for univariate and Cox's proportional hazard models for multivariate analysis of risk factors for hospitalization. RESULTS: At study entry age, diabetes duration and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) of the children equaled 13.5 ± 2.6 years, 4.1 ± 1.9 years and 7.8 ± 1.7%, respectively. Throughout the observation period 56 patients required at least one hospitalization due to acute complications. Median time of observation and time to the hospital admission were 46.3 [interquartile range (IQR) 32.2-57.7] and 13.2 (IQR 6.6-20.0) months, respectively. The best cutoff value of maternal depression in HDRS predictive for the risk of child hospitalization was above 12 points. The hazard ratio for hospitalization offered by the cutoff score for mother's depressive symptoms above threshold was 2.73 (95% confidence interval: 1.39-5.36). CONCLUSION: Children with T1DM whose mothers show high level of depressive symptoms are at an elevated risk for hospitalization due to acute diabetic complication.

Efficacy of metabolic and psychological screening for mood disorders among children with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic accuracy and time expenditure of screening models based on glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) level and psychometric measures for mood disorder (MD) among children with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: With semistructured clinical interviews (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for Children-Present and Lifetime version, 120 min/patient) as a reference for diagnosing MD, including major depressive disorder (MDD), we tested 163 subjects, aged 8 to 18 years, with type 1 diabetes. We evaluated four screening approaches: 1) Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) at 30 min/patient, 2) HbA(1c) level, 3) HbA(1c) level plus CDI, and 4) HbA(1c) level plus Children's Depression Rating Scale (CDRS) at 40 min/patient. These tests were conducted with all participants, and the total time expenditure for all four approaches was calculated as the total time needed to implement successfully the screening for MD or MDD in the center. RESULTS: HbA(1c) performed on par with individual psychometric tests in diagnosing MD or MDD. The HbA(1c) plus CDRS model was the best screening procedure for both MD and MDD, with diagnostic thresholds for HbA(1c) established at 8.7% and 9.0%, respectively. Cutoff points for CDRS assessed after filtering by HbA(1c) were 26 (MD) and 30 (MDD) points. Center-wide application of this procedure would result in an 83% reduction of the examination time necessary for the psychiatrist for MD screening and a 91% reduction for MDD screening, as compared with standard screening with CDI. CONCLUSIONS: Use of HbA(1c) level followed by CDRS is a time-efficient procedure to screen for MD in children with type 1 diabetes.

Sweet sins: frequency and psychiatric motivation for theft among adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Behavioral problems are an issue among adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D). The authors hypothesize that theft, possibly because of an underlying psychiatric morbidity, may be a way of procuring sweets leading to worse glycemic control. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate psychiatric morbidity and the association of theft and metabolic control among children and adolescents with T1D, using data from an interim analysis of an ongoing quality-of-life and psychiatric comorbidity study. METHODS: One hundred and nine consecutively hospitalized individuals aged 8-18 years with T1D were asked about incidents of theft. The data on psychiatric morbidity were taken from an ongoing longitudinal study using semi-structured diagnostic interview (KSADS-PL). RESULTS: Overall, 10 children (9%) reported that they had committed theft. Primary motivation for theft was reported as either direct or indirect gain of sweets. Patients who admitted to theft were more likely to have worse metabolic control expressed by glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) [10.4% (interquartile range 9.8-11.8) vs. 7.7% (6.9-8.8); p < 0.0001] and higher odds of having psychiatric morbidity (odds ratio 8.2; 95% confidence interval 1.9-34.2) than their peers. In the subgroup analysis of patients with psychiatric morbidity, HbA1c was significantly higher if having committed a theft was reported [10.2% (9.4-11.9) vs. 8.1% (7.2-9.2); p < 0.001]. No significant differences in socioeconomic status, clinical factors, or rates of complications were found. CONCLUSIONS: Theft may be a factor negatively affecting metabolic control in children with T1D and underlying psychiatric co-morbidity. Psychiatric morbidity is more frequent among patients with T1D and a history of theft.