A Meta-Analysis on Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes and The Effect of Diabetes Distress and Family Conflict on Glycemic Control

Abstract

I- Abstract Introduction Diabetes distress and diabetes family conflict are the new areas of focus in the diabetes mellitus management approach. These terms, although relatively new, have been investigated from different angles in the past 30 years and now have evidence-based established definitions and assessment tools. The attention is amplified when these terms are combined with the troublesome age of adolescence. It has been concluded that both diabetes distress and family conflict are tangible barriers regarding proper glycemic control.

Results Diabetes Distress (DD) appeared to correlate with a suboptimal glycemic profile where 8 out of 16 (50 %) studies showed a significant correlation between DD and glycemic control tested by HbA1c. Family conflict (FC), also, seemed to have a direct correlation with youths’ glycemic control by increasing their level of anxiety. The result showed that 11 out of 12 (91.6 %) studies showed a significant correlation between FC and glycemic control.

Conclusion Family conflict seemed to have a noticeable effect on teenagers’ glycemic profile. While, the area of family conflict and diabetes distress has not been well studied, so far, resilience programs like STePS and MILES appear promising and highlight a possible intervention to prevent DD. To date, the gold standard trial is recommended to mitigate the gap in this area of medicine and draw a robust conclusion regarding the correlation between effective diabetes management in youths, family conflict and diabetes distress.