Abstract

Introduction: Metabolic control (MC) of patients with type 1 diabetes (DM1) is linked with complications in short and long term follow up. Adolescence is a critical period in the treatment of DM1, making it difficult to achieve good MC. Few studies, all conducted in the United States, have shown an association between mother´s depressive symptoms with poorer MC of their adolescent. Objective: To evaluate the association between maternal depressive symptoms and Metabolic control of adolescents with DM1 in chilean patients . Patients and Methods: Cross-sectional observational study. Adolescents between 10 and 18 years of age, with a diagnosis of DM1 more than 1 year since the beginning of DM1, and their mothers were recruited . Beck II test (BDI-II), depression questionnaire Childhood (CDI), SALUFAM questionnaire and sociodemographic data questionnaire were applied. Hemoglobin was measured by capillary glycosylation (HbA1c), as a marker of metabolic control. For numerical variables, a T student test, and ANOVA were performed, and for categorical variables a Fisher's test. A significant P <0.05 value was considered. Results: A total of 86 adolescents of 14.04 ± 2.3 years old and 5.95 ± 3.7 years of evolution and their mothers completed the study . 27.3% of mothers presented depressive symptoms, being associated with poorer metabolic control (HbA1c of 8.91%, vs 7.66% p value <;0.001). The mother´s depressive symptoms were associated with a lower maternal and paternal educational level, lower home income, number of children in the family, presence of chronic diseases in siblings and health vulnerability. Between adolescents 17.6% had depressive symptoms, wich were not associated with maternal depressive symptoms or worse metabolic control. Conclusions: The presence of maternal depressive symptoms is associated with worse metabolic control in adolescents. A screening for depressive symptoms in mothers of adolescents with DM1 is recommended in order to achieve better metabolic results in adolescents with DM1