How Do Parents of Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Cope and How Does This Condition Affect Caregivers' Mental Health?

Objective: To evaluate the impact that type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children has on parents' mental health and parents' coping with this condition.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involving, at the outpatient examination, 41 caregivers of T1DM patients who had been diagnosed for at least 6 months. We evaluated the parents' coping strategies with the Brief COPE and their depressive and anxiety symptoms with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Glycemic control of patients was assessed using the last glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values.

Results: The average total score at HADS was 17.62 (SD=6.98). Half of the parents had an anxious score over the cut-off. The more parents were depressed or anxious, the more they used emotion-focused coping (P=0.002 and P=0.00, respectively). The more parents were anxious or depressed, the more they used maladaptive coping strategies such as avoidance and distraction.

Conclusion: These findings emphasise the key role of healthcare providers in assessing parents' difficulties and taking special care of those who have the most problems.