Abstract
This study aimed to assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on guardians of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. An online survey was performed to assess the prevalence of pandemic-related emotional burden, mental health disorders and diabetes-specific emotional burden related to diabetes care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caregivers of children and adolescents with diabetes under the age of 18 and caregivers of youth without diabetes for the non-diabetes group were invited to participate. For the primary outcome, mental health disorders were evaluated using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), while pandemic-related emotional burden and diabetes-specific emotional burden related to diabetes care were evaluated in different domains with specific questions. For analyses, a hierarchical testing strategy was performed. A total of 764 participants were included in the study. Regarding the pandemic period, caregivers of youth with type 1 diabetes endorsed significantly more pandemic-related emotional burden for both themselves (OR 1.67; 95% CI, 1.10 to 2.53) and for their child (OR 2.28; 95% CI, 1.54 to 3.38) when compared to the non-diabetes group. The emotional burden evaluation on different age ranges showed that the two groups were similar when the dependent youth was younger than 6 years. Moreover, a positive screening for mental health disorders during social distancing was higher in the diabetes group compared to the non-diabetes group (OR 2.43; 95% CI, 1.70 to 3.47), particularly in those aged under 12 years old. There was no difference between groups in mental health disorders among caregivers of adolescents older than 12 years. Our results allow to conclude that concern, burden and mental health disorders can be present in caregivers of youth with diabetes, and behavioral changes during the COVID-19 pandemic may enhance this situation.
Highlights
This study aimed to assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on guardians of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes
The present study aims to assess the psychological impact of routine changes and the demands of the disease on caregivers of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify factors that can guide strategies in similar situations in the future
After excluding participants who did not agree with the informed consent, did not meet the inclusion criteria or completed less than 75% of the questionnaire, 381 participants in the diabetes group and 383 in the non-diabetes group were included in the analyses
Summary
This study aimed to assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on guardians of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Our results allow to conclude that concern, burden and mental health disorders can be present in caregivers of youth with diabetes, and behavioral changes during the COVID-19 pandemic may enhance this situation. The closing of parks and recreation rooms results in more sedentary habits and, lower daily energy e xpenditure[4] All these changes may significantly impact the glycemic control of the child, adding even more responsibilities and enhancing the stress on guardians. The present study aims to assess the psychological impact of routine changes and the demands of the disease on caregivers of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify factors that can guide strategies in similar situations in the future
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