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Psychiatric disorder risk higher among children with type 1 diabetes
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The risk for psychiatric disorders is increased among children with a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, according to study findings published in Diabetes Care.
Agnieszka Butwicka, MD, PhD, of Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and colleagues evaluated data from 17,122 children with diabetes and 18,847 of their healthy siblings (controls) to determine the risk for psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts among them.
Overall, 8.3% of children with diabetes had psychiatric disorders compared with 5.6% of controls. A psychiatric disorder diagnosis was 2.1 times more likely and attempted suicide was 1.7 times more likely among children with diabetes compared with controls. Similarly, compared with controls, children with diabetes had an increased risk for mood disorders (HR = 2; 95% CI, 1.8-2.3), anxiety disorders (HR = 1.6; 95% CI, 1.4-2), eating disorders (HR = 2.2; 95% CI, 1.8-2.6), substance misuse (HR = 2.6; 95% CI, 2.4-2.9), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (HR = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.3-2.7), behavioral disorders (HR = 2.2; 95% CI, 2-2.4), autism spectrum disorder (HR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.4-2) and intellectual disability (HR = 1.8; 95% CI, 1.5-2.1).
The age of onset of diabetes affected the risk for psychiatric disorders; children with diabetes who were younger than 7 years (HR = 1.9; 95% CI, 1.7-2) had lower risk compared with those aged 12 years or older (HR = 2.4; 95% CI, 2.1-2.6). However, the highest risk for psychiatric disorders was reported within the first 6 months of diagnosis and declined with time.
The highest risk for psychiatric disorders was reported among children with diabetes born from 1973 to 1986 on the ICD-8 classification (HR = 2.7; 95% CI, 2.2-3.3), and it declined among those born from 1997 to 2009 on the ICD-10 classification (HR = 1.9; 95% CI, 1.8-2).
“We found increased risks for different diagnostic categories of disorders suggesting that psychological assessment restricted to mood and anxiety disorders probably is too limited,” the researchers wrote. “Furthermore, our findings offer valuable insight into the etiology of psychiatric comorbidity in type 1 diabetes. Lack of risk of psychiatric disorders among siblings of patients suggests there is no shared genetic susceptibility between those conditions.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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