Abstract
Type I Diabetes Mellitus (DM I) is the third most common chronic childhood disease and can cause both short-term and long-term complications, as well as acute life-threatening events. The announcement of the DM I diagnosis in childhood or adolescence constitutes a major psychosocial stressor for the child and his family. Diabetes in general complicates the parent-child relationship and increases adolescents’ negative thoughts about themselves and depressive mood. The majority of patients experience depressive and/or anxiety symptoms at the time of diagnosis, which generally resolve within six to nine months. Poor adjustment in this initial phase places adolescents at risk for later psychosocial difficulties. On a long-term basis, individuals with DM I may exhibit significant psychiatric and behavioral problems including depression, anxiety and anger. We here reported the case of a 13-year-old boy, suffering from DM I for 3 years, who developed poor metabolic control, depressive symptoms and life-threatening behavior in the past 6 months and was hospitalized at an inpatient psychiatric unit. The complex biopsychosocial needs of adolescents with Type I Diabetes Mellitus should be recognized and addressed through tailored interventions by medical and mental health professionals.
Highlights
Type I Diabetes Mellitus (DM I), the incidence of which continues to increase worldwide [1,2], is the third most common chronic disease in childhood [3]
The announcement of the DM I diagnosis in childhood or adolescence constitutes a major psychosocial stressor for the child and their family, as both are introduced to a new world filled with challenges, constraints and uncertainties associated with a lifelong illness [5,9,10]
Children come to realize the chronicity of the illness and become anxious and/ or depressed
Summary
Type I Diabetes Mellitus (DM I), the incidence of which continues to increase worldwide [1,2], is the third most common chronic disease in childhood [3]. It is an autoimmune disease, characterized by destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, leading to total or near total insulin deficiency. The disease has a bimodal presentation regarding age of onset, with the first peak between 4 and 6 years of age and the second peak in early adolescence [1,4,5] Diabetes can cause both short-term and long-term complications, as well as acute life-threatening events (hypoglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis) [4,5,6]. We here described the course of his illness during hospitalization, the serious affective manifestations interfering with his daily diabetic care and the way he achieved better metabolic control once his psychiatric condition improved
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