Juvenile diabetes, also known as type 1 diabetes, is a condition in which the pancreas stops producing insulin or produces very little insulin in the body. This condition is mostly developed in children and can be extremely challenging for them as well as their families. Like any other chronic disease, juvenile diabetes also affects the mental health of the patients. Understanding how profound the impact of juvenile diabetes is on the children’s mental health can help the caregivers better manage their strategies.

Can Juvenile Diabetes Cause Mental Health Problems In Children?

Juvenile diabetes usually requires a complex and demanding treatment regimen. It involves taking several medications, following dietary regulations, attending doctor’s appointments, frequently administering insulin, regular monitoring of blood glucose levels and adopting lifestyle practices to prevent diabetes complications. These tasks tend to disrupt the normal functioning of the day-to-day activity of kids and even impose restrictions on attending social functions such as sleepovers, birthday parties, etc. All this can be extremely exhausting and stress-inducing for children. Therefore, most children with juvenile diabetes suffer from mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders and behavioural disorders.

What Are The Mental Health Problems Faced By Children With Juvenile Diabetes?

Depression:

About 25% of the children with type 1 diabetes develop depression and diabetes stress over time, mostly due to the negative feelings they have about diabetes. They often experience depressive symptoms such as sadness, distractibility, sleep disturbances, loss of appetite, low motivation, anger, tantrums, stomach ache, headaches, etc. In many cases, depression may also lead to suicide.

Depression can make diabetes management ineffective and produce poorer outcomes. It also increases the risk of diabetes complications in children. Therefore, it is important to identify depressive symptoms in children and help them overcome them. You may take the help of your medical team and therapists for the same. Support groups are also effective in dealing with diabetes distress.

Anxiety Disorder:

Many children with juvenile diabetes also suffer from anxiety disorders. It has been found that the main reason for anxiety is fear of hypoglycemia. Children live in constant fear of having a hypoglycemic condition in schools, parks, etc. This constant anxiety can affect the glycemic control of the body and make diabetes management ineffective. Therefore, it is important to reduce the fearful atmosphere surrounding juvenile diabetes and make the children feel more comfortable and less anxious. Education and awareness programs for the same can be proven highly effective.

Eating Disorders:

Many children, especially adolescents, suffer from eating disorders as a result of having juvenile diabetes. The dietary regulations and the constant need to maintain the body weight can develop eating disordered behaviour, such as dieting for weight control, binge eating, etc. One of the most common eating disorders developed due to juvenile diabetes is anorexia nervosa, where children develop rigid thinking about food. These eating disorders can impact metabolic activities negatively and increase the risk of diabetes complications. They also tend to increase the mortality rate in children with diabetes. Therefore, it is essential to recognise this disorder at an early stage and get them treated.

What Can The Parents Do?

Parents and families are most important in the diabetes management of children. They play a key role in helping their child adjust to diabetes and deal with psychological distress. Some of the tips given below can help parents strategise the diabetes management plan more effectively:

Listen to your children’s problems. Always acknowledge them and make them feel comfortable as they share their distress around diabetes.
Share the diabetes management tasks with your kids. You can become their exercise buddy, remind them of their medications, check their blood glucose levels, etc. It will help relieve the burden on your children’s shoulders.
Appreciate your kids for all the small achievements or efforts. Every small step counts.
Do not punish them for low or high numbers. Understand the reasons behind these numbers and work with them as a team.
Do not always talk about diabetes. Distract yourself and your kids with other activities. Make them feel that diabetes is just a part of their life, not the whole life.
Chronic illness can make your kids feel left out. Spend quality time with them and let them know that you are always with them.
Advise your children to talk to the diabetes team about their concerns. You can also take psychological help from a therapist or take your children to a support group.

Takeaway:

Juvenile diabetes can have a profound impact on the mental health of children. It can cause many psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety. These disorders not only affect diabetes management negatively but also increase the risk of diabetes complications. Therefore, it is important to address these problems and deal with them effectively to reduce psychological stress in children.

References:

The first thing that Indian parents need to know when their child develops diabetes is what precisely is juvenile diabetes. Juvenile diabetes is primarily an autoimmune disorder and is also known as type 1 diabetes. As suggested by the name, this form of diabetes is generally diagnosed in childhood or adolescence, which is in sharp contrast to type 2 diabetes because the latter commonly affects adults.

Individuals with all types of diabetes share one common feature: high amounts of glucose (or sugar) in their blood.

How Does Glucose Work In Those With Juvenile Diabetes?

After you consume any food, your body successfully breaks down the food into glucose (or sugar) and other substances, which enters the bloodstream. In response, your pancreas releases insulin, which is a hormone that assists fat and muscle cells to use glucose for energy.

When it comes to children with juvenile diabetes, their immune system starts to get confused and begins attacking the beta cells of the pancreas, thus shutting down the production of insulin. Without insulin to successfully guide glucose into the cells of the body, glucose begins to build up in the blood, leading to a wide range of health issues.

Who Gets Juvenile Diabetes?

The most common age when children are generally diagnosed with juvenile diabetes is between the years 10 and 16. This is probably because puberty triggers an increase in the production of hormones (such as oestrogen and testosterone) that may affect blood sugar levels.

Causes Of Juvenile Diabetes

The precise cause of juvenile diabetes is not yet known. Besides the obvious cause of the body’s own immune system (which typically fights bacteria and viruses) mistakenly destroying the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, genetic factors, exposure to viruses, and environmental factors may cause the development of juvenile diabetes.

Juvenile diabetes is not linked to any specific gene that you can successfully test for. Although autoimmune disorders run in families, most instances of juvenile diabetes appear to occur in a random manner.

Other possible factors that play a role in the development of this condition are listed below:

Ethnicity And Geography:

The condition is more common among individuals who live further away from the equator. For instance, Scandinavian countries. Moreover, Caucasians of Northern European ancestry are at a higher risk.

Genetics:

Although there is no specific gene that leads to juvenile diabetes, there exist several genes and genetic mutations that can increase a child’s risk of developing juvenile diabetes. For instance, mutations in HLA (human leukocyte antigen) class of genes.

Family History:

If autoimmune diseases run in your family, that eventually means that your child is at a higher risk of developing the same.

Toxins And Infections:

Researchers are of the opinion that a specific toxin or virus triggers the commencement of this condition.

Symptoms Of Juvenile Diabetes

The signs and symptoms of juvenile diabetes can appear in a sudden manner and may include:

Increased thirst
Frequent need to urinate
Bedwetting
Severe Hunger
Unintended and unexplained weight loss
Irritability and mood changes
Weakness and fatigue
Blurry vision

Treatments For Juvenile Diabetes

Taking shots of insulin

Counting of carbs, fats, and proteins to be consumed

Frequent monitoring of blood sugar levels

Consuming healthy food items

Regular exercise and maintenance of a healthy weight

The ultimate goal is to keep your blood glucose levels in the normal range to delay or prevent diabetic complications.

Insulin And Other Medications

Anyone with juvenile diabetes needs insulin therapy on a lifelong basis. Some of the most common types of insulin include short-acting or regular insulin, rapid-acting insulin, intermediate-acting or NPH (Neutral Protamine Hagedorn) insulin, and long-acting insulin.

Insulin can be administered via injections or an insulin pump. In addition, CGM (or Continuous Glucose Monitoring) is the most advanced way to monitor blood sugar levels.

How To Help Your Child

As a parent, you can help your child lead a happier and healthier life by offering constant encouragement, learning all the essential information about juvenile diabetes, and ensuring that your child eats well, exercises regularly, and stays on top of blood sugar control every day.

Living with diabetes is quite a challenge for anyone, but children and teenagers have special issues that need to be tackled. Young children may not understand the need for blood sugar monitoring, insulin shots, or intaking medicines. They may be terrified, uncooperative, or angry.

Hence, you need to offer stupendous support and courage.

On A Final Note

Having a child diagnosed with juvenile diabetes may seem to be a tad overwhelming at times; however, you must realise that you are not alone. If you are confronted with problems or questions, make it a point to seek professional help.