School and pre-school children with type 1 diabetes during Covid-19 quarantine: The synergic effect of parental care and technology.

Schiaffini R, Barbetti F, Rapini N, Inzaghi E, Deodati A, Patera IP, Matteoli MC, Ciampalini P, Carducci C, Lorubbio A, Schiaffini G, Cianfarani S

Diabetes Res Clin Pract 166 (-) 108302 [2020-08-00; online 2020-07-03]

Management of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) poses numerous challenges, especially for young children and their families. Parental care positively influencesthe outcomesofchildren with T1D, while there are often criticisms in school environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced children and parents to spend many hours at home and diabetes care has returned mainly in the hands of parents. To evaluate the effectiveness of exclusive return to parental care in pre-school and school children with T1D treated with Tandem Basal IQ system during the COVID-19 pandemic. 22 children (M:F = 14:8) with T1D have been evaluated. We compared insulin and CGM data (TIR, TBR and TAR) of two periods: PRE-COV and IN-COV, in which children have transitioned from normal school attendance to the exclusive care of their parents. During the IN-COV period a significantly (p < 0.001) higher median value of TIR (66,41%) was observed as compared to PRE-COV period (61,45%). Patients also showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.002) between the IN-COV period and the PRE-COV period as concerning the TAR metric: respectively 29,86 ± 10,6% vs 34,73 ± 12,8%. The difference between the bolus insulin doses was statistically significant (PRE-COV 5,3 IU/day, IN-COV 7,9 IU/day - p < 0.05). Our observational real-life study confirms the positive effect of parental care in T1D very young children and demonstrates that during the COVID-19 pandemic it was possible to obtain a good glycometabolic compensation despite the significant change in lifestyle.

Category: Health

Category: Social Science & Humanities

Type: Journal article

PubMed 32623034

DOI 10.1016/j.diabres.2020.108302

Crossref 10.1016/j.diabres.2020.108302

pii: S0168-8227(20)30554-4
pmc: PMC7332425


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