The determinant factor and quality of life in adolescent with type 1 diabetes mellitus: A study in limited resource setting

Exogenous insulin is necessary for the lifetime management of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Quality of life is a significant determinant of diabetes care outcomes. Adolescence reaches its height with physical, physiological, intellectual, self-determination, and social independence. Glycemic control frequently deteriorates during adolescence. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of life and determinants factor in adolescents with type 1 diabetes in limited resource settings. This study was held from September to December 2022 at Pediatric Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic at Dr. Soetomo General Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia. All caregivers and adolescents diagnosed with T1DM at the age of 10-18 years were involved in this study as the study population. The PedsQL 3.2 questionnaire was assessed to measure quality of life of T1DM’s adolescents based on the age of the patients. Association between the determinant factors and the quality of life was analyzed using Spearman correlation test. A total of 29 children participated in this study. The mean HbA1c value was about 10.09 ±1.96 mg/dL. Total duration of illness’s mean of our subject was 4.62 ± 2.90 years. There were no statistically different scores of quality of life between the patients’ and parents’ reports (p>0.05). Duration of illness significantly correlated with diabetes symptoms, treatment adherence, and total score by PedsQL score (p= 0.024, p= 0.011, and p= 0.028), respectively. This study found that among all other contributing factors, duration of illness had a statistically significant correlation with quality of life of the T1DM patients.