While children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their parents report significant sleep problems, few studies have focused on young children and included health-related quality of life (HRQOL) as an outcome of sleep disturbance. In addition, relatively little is known about the use of diabetes devices, such as continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), in young children and their link with sleep disturbances. This brief report examines the relationship between sleep quality and HRQOL and explores sleep disturbances related to CGM use in a sample of young children with T1D. Data are from the baseline of a behavioral intervention pilot for 46 parents of children ages 2-5 years with T1D. Parents reported on their child's sleep disturbances as a result of nighttime blood glucose monitoring (NBGM). Sleep was measured objectively in a subset of children (N = 11) who wore accelerometers for a 5-day period. All parents completed measures of pediatric and parental HRQOL. Greater child sleep disturbance due to NBGM was associated with lower pediatric HRQOL. Child sleep disturbances were negatively associated with parental life satisfaction. In addition, children who used CGM experienced fewer sleep disturbances than those who did not. However, parents of children who used CGM experienced greater sleep disturbances related to a higher frequency of NBGM. Pediatric and parental HRQOL were most related to child sleep disturbances by NBGM. CGM use may be associated with better child sleep, as parents are less likely to wake their child for NBGM, although CGM use may also be associated with greater sleep difficulties in parents. Future studies should further explore the relationship between sleep and technology use and impact on clinical outcomes in young children with T1D and their parents.
Objective: Nutrition and physical activity are key components of daily diabetes care in young children with type I diabetes (T1D). Normative developmental behavioral challenges related to nutrition and physical activity complicate management of T1D. The current pilot study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and indications of behavior change of an intervention aimed at improving nutrition and physical activity in young children with T1D. Method: Thirty-6 parents of young children (ages 2-5 years, M = 4.2) with T1D from 2 clinics in the Washington, DC area were randomized to receive the type One Training (TOTs) program or Usual Care (UC). Assessments included recruitment and completion rates, participant acceptability, and outcomes including glycemic variability via continuous glucose monitoring, nutritional intake via remote food photography, physical activity via accelerometers, and parental report on behavior and psychosocial functioning. Results: Despite recruitment challenges, the TOTs program was feasible to administer, with high program and assessment completion rates. Acceptability ratings were very high but differed by recruitment site. Participants randomized to TOTs had an increase in percent of time in target glycemic range and reduction in behavioral feeding problems between baseline and follow-up while those randomized to UC did not. Participants in UC demonstrated a decrease in in moderate to vigorous physical activity at follow-up. Conclusions: The TOTs program demonstrated preliminary feasibility and acceptability. Future research will examine components of treatment for evidence of efficacy and target the intervention to those most likely to benefit.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.