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Coinciding with National Diabetes Week, an important report released today highlights the psychological, wellbeing and quality of life issues facing young Australians with type 1 diabetes and their parents.

This is the first, large national Australian survey of its kind focused on how young people with type 1 diabetes (and their parents) feel about and manage the condition as they transition through childhood into adulthood.

The Diabetes MILES Youth report, was funded by the National Diabetes Service Scheme (NDSS) and conducted by the Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes.

According to the Chair of the NDSS Young People with Diabetes Expert Reference Group Professor Susan Sawyer, “The challenge now is how to respond to the health issues and psychological burden experienced by young people with type 1 diabetes and their families. We need to ensure that young people with diabetes are not viewed as a problem, but embraced. We also have a responsibility to engage young people in finding solutions that resonate with them.â€

Director of the Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes, Professor Jane Speight says, “Living with diabetes places significant self-care and psychological demands on young people and their families. A third of parents reported impaired general emotional well-being and 8% of parents experienced severe anxiety symptoms. Almost half of the parents surveyed (48%) were frequently worried about their child experiencing hypoglycaemia.â€

If left untreated, hypoglycaemia can lead to serious medical problems including loss of consciousness, convulsions or seizures requiring emergency treatment. “One in 3 young people reported experiencing four or more hypoglycaemic episodes per week, and one third reported at least one episode of severe hypoglycaemia in the past 12 months. Approximately 1 in 4 young people often worried about having a hypoglycaemic event while asleep†said Prof Speight.

The sample of the national, online survey was 781 young people (aged 10 to 19 years) with type 1 diabetes and 826 parents, from all states and territories in Australia.
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