Association between emotional and behavioral problems and metabolic control in children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the differences in emotional and behavioral problems and to explore the association between the level of psychiatric problems and the metabolic control in Type 1 diabetes.

Methods: The children with Type 1 diabetes (no.=42) and the "healthy" control group (no.=42), their parents and endocrinology specialist completed the forms prepared for the study. The parents completed the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL/4- 18).

Results: The groups had significant differences in CBCL activities (p<0.001), social competence (p<0.001), total competences (p<0.001), withdrawal (p=0.036), anxiety/depression (p=0.033), social problems (p=0.009), and aggressive behavior (p=0.04) scores. We did not find significant differences in CBCL scores between the groups with good, moderate and bad metabolic control (p>0.05).

Conclusions: The parents of children with Type 1 diabetes reported emotional and behavioral problems significantly more. We did not find any significant association between the level of metabolic control and the emotional and behavioral problems.