THE IMPACT OF SENSOR-AUGMENTED INSULIN PUMP (SAP) THERAPY ON QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES (T1D) AND THEIR PARENTS

Background and Aims: Ensuring QoL while maintaining a good glycemic control is an important challenge in T1D treatment. Aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of SAP therapy on QoL in children and adolescents with T1D and their parents. Method: 125 patients (T1D duration ‡1 year;) were recruited in the study. Twenty-one out of 125 (16.8%) were on SAP by at least 1 year (11.7 – 3.5 yrs old; T1D duration = 6.6 – 3.5 yrs) while others were on MDI by T1D onset (12.5 – 3.5 yrs old; T1D duration = 5.4 – 3.5 yrs). Patients and parents filled in the PedsQLTM 3.0 Diabetes Module including diabetes symptoms, treatment barriers, treatment adherence, worry, and communication scales. Results: Patients in the SAP group reported a higher score in the ‘‘hypoglycemic’’ item of worry scale (p = 0.035) than the MDI group. Mothers in the SAP group, respect to MDI group ones, reported a lower score in both the ‘‘injection pain’’ item of treatment barriers scale (p = 0.023) and the ‘‘difficulty to control glycemia’’ item in treatment adherence scale (p = 0.009). HbA1c (p = 0.001) and fasting plasma glucose (p = 0.044) values were significantly lower in SAP group than in MDI. Conclusion: SAP seems to reduce the fear of hypoglycemia in children and adolescents with T1D and this could be important to improve glycemic control. In mothers SAP seems to increase both barriers and adherence to treatment. The impact of new technologies on QoL should be regularly evaluated because it is critical to better understand both the medical and psychological care of T1D.