Correlation between HbA1c Levels and Depression in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic disease with multiple long-term complications that could trigger depression. This study was performed to determine the relationship between HbA1C levels and depression in children and adolescents with T1DM.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in all children and adolescents with T1DM attending an endocrine clinic affiliated with Amirkola Children's Hospital, Iran 2018-2019. The patients aged 7-18 years old and at least 1.5 years had passed since the onset of their diabetes. Average of three HbA1c values (every six months) were considered and depression was measured using the Marques Children Depression Inventory.

Out of 100 patients with T1DM based on age-appropriate HbA1c, good, poor, and severe control of diabities were seen in 22%, 74%, and 4%, respectively. The risk of of depression in patients with poor control of diabities was 1.75 times higher than those with a good control of the disease, but this was not statistically significant (P=0.29). The risk of depression in children with illness duration of more than 6 years was 3.74 times higher than that in children with less than 6 years duration of the disease (P= 0.005).

Better management of T1DM and HbA1c levels are needed to reduce the risk of depression in these patients.