Endocrine Abstracts

Aim: To assess level of knowledge and compensation degree in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus in “Type 1 Diabetes School”.

Materials and methods: The 5-day training course was conducted in ‘Type 1 Diabetes School’ at the Center for the Scientific and Clinical Study of Endocrinology. The training was conducted by means of a structured program containing all appropriate sections. In total 137 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus were included into the study. Among them 92 patients got training; 45 children and adolescents hospitalized at the Center for the Scientific and Clinical Study of Endocrinology got no training in the ‘Type 1 Diabetes School’. DS5 Glycomat (USA) was used to measure HbA1c by means of high pH anion-exchange liquid chromatography.

Results and discussion: Study on efficacy of the training in the ‘Diabetes School’ by means of the questionnaire demonstrated that before training children with mean diabetes duration of 4.7±1.8 years could give right answers to five or six questions only. Low-motivated children from low-motivated families with low level of knowledge who got no training were hospitalized at the intensive care unit more frequently both before and after training at ‘Type 1 Diabetes School’. At follow-up they could give six or 11 right answers. Among trained adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus initially number of right answers was six, in 5 years they could give right answers to 19. Among the untrained adolescents level of knowledge was low both initially and after a 5-year follow-up. HbA1c level in the trained children after 5 years was found reduced by 2.4±0.24% as compared with the initial one; it was reduced by 0.8±0.3% in the untrained children. In trained adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus after 5 years HbA1c level reduced by 3.0±0.36%; in those untrained the value was 2.3±0.32%, but the adolescents did not achieved target HbA1c level.

Conclusions: Within a 5-year follow-up mean HbA1c level in the trained and untrained children was 7.8 and 10/8%, respectively. Among adolescents the values were 8.1 and 10.1%, respectively. Better compensation and higher frequency of target HbA1c level achievement in children as compared with those among adolescents confirms the role of family in the type 1 diabetes mellitus control.