Education improves life for diabetic kids

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A novel educational program called the Kids in Control of Food (KICk OFF) can improve the quality of life for children and teens with type 1 diabetes mellitus, according to findings in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

"Management of diabetes mellitus during adolescence is challenging, affecting social and emotional well-being," Dr. Christine Eiser, of the University of Sheffield, UK, and colleagues write. Control of blood sugar and "quality of life typically decline during this period."

The researchers examined the effects of the KICk OFF training course in 48 diabetic children between the ages of 11 and 16 years recruited from three centers in the UK.

The participants attended one of six 5-day outpatient courses where they were taught the skills of carbohydrate counting and insulin dose adjustment. The team assessed the quality of the curriculum, the program's acceptability by families, and impact on outcome measures, including sugar control and body weight.

"Both patients and parents reported significantly improved quality of life and satisfaction with treatment from (enrollment) to 6 months after the course," Eiser and colleagues write. "Children reported improved self-efficacy and both children and parents reported greater child responsibility for a range of management tasks." There were no significant changes in family conflicts reported.

Although the program did not seem to improve sugar control or body weight, the authors believe that further studies with more patients are nonetheless warranted to examine this in greater detail.

SOURCE: Archives of Diseases in Childhood, November 2008.