Type 1 diabetes and mental health in children
a systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5712/rbmfc20(47)4036Keywords:
Diabetes mellitus type 1, Mental health, ChildAbstract
Introduction: Type 1 diabetes (DM1) is one of the main chronic diseases in childhood significantly impacting the lives and routines of caregivers and patients in a traumatic manner, serving as a major stressor. Objective: This systematic review aims to assess whether children with DM1 may exhibit a higher prevalence of symptoms or psychiatric disorders compared to their peers and whether the presence of these disorders leads to poorer diabetes control. Methods: This systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and was registered in the PROSPERO database for systematic reviews. The last search in databases was on May 11, 2023, resulting in 1910 articles selected on the basis of topic, keywords or abstract. Articles involving a population aged 0 to 12 years with type 1 diabetes from 2013 to 2023 were included, focusing on mental health. Results: Of the 1910 articles systematically selected, only 7 were chosen for analysis. Among these, 3 showed a significant association in mental health scores when comparing children with and without diabetes, while the others indicated a weak association. Conclusions: It appears that there is a relationship between the control of diabetes mellitus and mental health indicators, underscoring the importance of clinical monitoring and proper disease management for the quality of life of those with this condition. In the selected studies, the main limitation was the restricted number of participants and the assessment tools used.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Pietro Preis Casagrande, Maria Eduarda Oliveira de Albuquerque Gonçalves, Jade Zarichta Costa, Thiffany Quartarollo Lopes

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