Lockdowns Gave Increase to Sort 1 Diabetes Management in Children – Client Well being Information

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TUESDAY, March 23, 2021 (HealthDay News) – According to researchers, blood sugar levels in adolescents with type 1 diabetes improved during the UK’s first national COVID-19 pandemic.

“Children and families found it easier to deal with this disease when they were forced to stay at home. This helps us understand the pressures placed on patients and families when trying to lead normal, busy lives with.” Conduct activities outside of the home, “said senior researcher Dr. Neil Lawrence of the Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Sheffield, England.

The research team compared how well 180 children and adolescents in two UK communities controlled their type 1 diabetes in the 12 weeks before and 12 weeks after the lockdown began on March 23, 2020. The researchers noted a significant improvement in blood sugar levels after the permanent start of lockdown when the children were at home.

The teenagers’ mean long-term blood glucose (HbA1C) readings fell, and blood glucose levels were less variable and more frequent in the range the researchers asked them to (3.9-10 mmol / L).

The study was presented virtually on Monday at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting.

“The results show the difficulties that patients and families face with type 1 diabetes in terms of school pressure, meals outside of home, social life and peer pressure,” Lawrence said in a press release from the meeting.

“We need to give them extra support in school and when they socialize to prevent them from developing unfortunate complications later in life,” he added.

Children with this condition need parents, teachers, and other caregivers to communicate well and work together as a team to avoid related long-term health problems caused by poor blood sugar control, Lawrence said.

“This gives us important insights into where advice, education and support should be directed,” he said. Lawrence added that the future use of remote video and phone consultations may be beneficial for both families and doctors.

Results presented at meetings are generally considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The American Diabetes Association has more about type 1 diabetes.

Source: Endocrine Society, press release, March 20, 2021