Symptom of depression are common among children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes, according to researchers from Harvard Medical School, Boston.

Dr. Lori M. B. Laffel and colleagues conducted a study with 145 such youngsters, who had had diabetes for an average of eight years, and their parents.

The researchers used a 27-item self-report questionnaire to assess depressive symptoms, which was completed by the children as well as by the parents with regard to their children.

The investigators also used other questionnaires to measure family conflict specifically related to diabetes management, to assess emotional responses to the children’s high and low blood glucose values, and to determine the parents’ perceived burden related to diabetes care.

As reported in the medical journal Diabetes Care, Laffel’s team found that 15.2 percent of the young diabetics had symptoms of depression, which was also tied to poorer control of blood sugar levels.

Higher levels of diabetes-specific family conflict, whether reported by parents or children, were associated with higher depression scores, say the researchers.

They suggest that doctors should pay close attention to the emotional state of children with diabetes, as well as their family situation, to promote optimal diabetes management for these children.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, June 2006.