Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT3925

Introduction: Adolescents, particularly those with chronic conditions, face heightened demands and challenges as they transition into adulthood, especially in the social and professional spheres, along with an increasing need of autonomy. Studies show that this transition often leads to deteriorating glycemic control and increased loss to follow-up in adolescents with diabetes. To address these concerns, our center established a Diabetes Transition clinic to ensure continuity of care, treatment adherence, and optimal metabolic control.

Objectives: To characterize the patients with diabetes who attended the Diabetes Transition clinic of a tertiary care hospital.

Methods: Retrospective study of all patients with diabetes who transitioned from the Pediatric to the Adult Diabetes clinic from January 2015 to December 2024. Data were collected from the patients’ medical records. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS.

Results: A total of 96 patients were transitioned from the Pediatric Diabetes clinic to the Adult Diabetes one during this period. 52. 1% (n = 50) were female, median age at diabetes diagnosis was 10 years (1-17) and median age at the time of transition was 19 years (18-22). 91. 7% (n = 88) of patients had type 1 diabetes (T1D), 5. 2% (n = 5) had type 2 diabetes, one patient had MODY type 3, one patient had diabetes secondary to cystic fibrosis and one patient had diabetes secondary to congenital generalized lipodystrophy type 1. Mean HbA1c levels before transition and at 1, 3 and 5 years post-transition were 8. 68±1. 88%, 8. 47±1. 84% (P = 0. 98), 7. 87±1. 64% (P = 0. 10) and 7. 94±1. 45% (P = 0. 11), respectively. Mean time in range (TIR) of the T1D patients was 44. 3±15. 3% pretransition and 40. 1±14. 7% 1 year post-transition (P = 0. 24). Currently, 79. 2% (n = 76) of patients remain in care at our Adult Diabetes clinic. Of the remaining patients, 12 were lost to follow-up, 7 elected to be transferred to other centers and the one with cystic fibrosis died from non-diabetes-related complications.

Conclusion: Unlike trends reported in the literature, in our study of the last 10 years of our Diabetes Transition clinic, mean HbA1c and TIR did not exhibit statistically significant differences in the years post-transition. These findings highlight the role of our multidisciplinary approach in supporting young adults with diabetes through this critical transition period. Nevertheless, implementing a more structured transition process, initiated earlier in adolescence, could further enhance patient engagement, improve long-term metabolic outcomes and reduce loss to follow-up.