Impact of a special therapeutic education programme in patients transferred from a paediatric to an adult diabetes unit

To determine the efficacy and patient perception of various transfer procedures from paediatric to adult diabetes services. Comparison between four districts in the Oxford Region employing different transfer methods, by retrospective study of case records and interviews of patients recently transferred from paediatric diabetes clinics. The main outcome measures were age at transfer, clinic attendance rates, HbA1c measurements and questionnaire responses. Two hundred and twenty-nine subjects (57% males) > 18 years old in 1998 and diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes < 16 years of age between 1985 and 1995, identified from the regional diabetes register. The notes audit was completed for 222 (97%) and 164 (72%) were interviewed by a single research nurse. Mean age at transfer was 17.9 years (range 13.3-22.4 years). Few young people were lost to follow-up at the point of transfer. There was a high rate of clinic attendance (at least 6 monthly) 2 years pretransfer (94%), but this declined to 57% 2 years post-transfer (P < 0.0005). There was large interdistrict variation in clinic attendance 2 years post-transfer (29% to 71%); higher rates were seen in districts where young people had the opportunity to meet the adult diabetes consultant prior to transfer. The importance of this opportunity was confirmed by questionnaire responses on interview. Adolescence is a vulnerable period for patients with diabetes. This regional survey demonstrated a marked decline in clinic attendance around the time of transition from paediatric to adult services. The reasons are complex, but mode of transfer may be an important factor.

To evaluate the effect of intensive diabetes treatment on patient quality of life assessed by the Diabetes Quality-of-Life Measure, the Symptom Checklist-90R, the Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short Form Survey, and intercurrent psychosocial events in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT). The DCCT was a 29-center prospective controlled clinical trial that demonstrated the beneficial effect of intensive diabetes treatment on retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy. The 1,441 volunteers with IDDM, aged 13-39 years, were randomly assigned to intensive or conventional diabetes therapy. The volunteers were followed for a mean of 6.5 years (range 3-9 years). Quality-of-life data were collected during annual visits. Of the volunteers, 99% completed the study, and > 95% of scheduled tests were completed. All analyses of quality of life, psychiatric symptom indexes, and psychosocial event data showed no differences between intensive and conventional diabetes treatment. Under careful treatment conditions, such as those followed in the DCCT, patients undergoing intensive diabetes treatment do not face deterioration in the quality of their lives, even while the rigor of their diabetes care is increased.