Effects of social-economic factors on self-care ability and general happiness in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Objective To explore the influence of social-economic factors on self-care ability and general well-being in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) . Methods Totally 75 adolescents with T1DM who were treated in Endocrinology Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2014 to January 2016 were selected as the research objects, and the social-economic factors of their families were collected, which included education degree, career situation, yearly household income and citizenship. The levels of self-care ability and general happiness in adolescents with T1DM were researched by Diabetes Self-Care Scale (DSCS) and Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (MUNSH) , and the correlation between the social-economic factors and self-care ability, general happiness were analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. Results In this study, the score of self-care ability of adolescents was (80.66±8.57) , in which 19 cases got good scores, 35 cases got general scores and 21 cases got poor scores; the score of general happiness was (34.02±4.99) , in which 23 cases got low scores, 26 cases got medium scores and 26 cases got high scores. The differences in parents' education degree, father's career situation, and yearly household income among T1DM adolescents with different self-care ability levels were statistically significant (P<0.01) ; the differences in parents' education degree, parents' career situation and yearly household income among T1DM adolescents with different general happiness levels was statistically significant (P<0.05) . Multiple linear regression showed that parents' education degree, father's career situation and yearly household income were influence factors of self-care ability in adolescents with T1DM (P<0.01) ; parents' education degree, parents' career situation and yearly household income were influencing factors for general well-being in adolescents with T1DM (P<0.01) . Conclusions The levels of self-care ability and general well-being in adolescents with T1DM are at medium level; their parents' education degree and yearly household income are the main influencing factors. Key words: Social-economic factors; Diabetes mellitus, type 1; Self-care ability; General well-being