Children with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and the Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes is a common disease, afflicting more than 20 million Americans. Psychiatric disorders, particularly depression, have been previously correlated with diabetes. The objectives of this study were to determine the frequency of psychiatric illnesses in a type 2 pediatric diabetic cohort and to examine if there were any significant demographic differences between diabetic children with psychiatric disorders and diabetic children without psychiatric disorders. A retrospective chart review was performed on patients from two southeastern children's hospitals. In our study, 26.2% (67 of 256) of diabetic patients were diagnosed with neuropsychiatric disorders (NPD). A comparison between gender frequencies of affected and unaffected patients suggested a statistical difference (P = 0.009). It appears that pediatric diabetic males are affected with NPD to a greater extent than females. Patients diagnosed with neurological disorders showed a body mass index average of 39.03, which was statistically different from non-diagnosed NPD patients (P = 0.0313). To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate the frequency of psychiatric disorders in a cohort of pediatric type 2 diabetics in the southeastern US. This study provides information regarding children afflicted with type 2 diabetes mellitus and the frequency of neuropsychiatric morbidities. This information may be useful for crafting future health policies and quality improvement interventions.