Diabetes care for emerging adults: transition from pediatric to adult diabetes care systems

With the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus in children, transitioning patients from childhood to adulthood are increasing. High-risk behaviors and poor glycemic control during the transition period increase the risk for hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia as well as chronic microvascular and macrovascular complications. Discussions regarding complications and preparations for transition must take place before the actual transition to adult care systems. Pediatric care providers should focus on diabetes self-management skills and prepare at least 1 year prior to the transfer. Pediatric providers should also provide a written summary about previous and current glycemic control, complications and the presence of mental health problems such as disordered eating behaviors and affective disorders. Transition care should be individualized, with an emphasis on diabetes self-management to prevent acute and long-term complications. Regular screening and management of complications should proceed according to pediatric and adult guidelines. Birth control, use of alcohol, smoking and driving should also be discussed. Barriers to self-management and care must be recognized and solutions sought. The goals of transitional care are to effectively transition the diabetic patient from the pediatric to adult care system with less elapsed time in between and to improve post-transition outcome. Previous studies regarding diabetes transitional care programs including patient education programs, medical coordinators and auxiliary service systems reported promising results. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding best practices in transition care. Further studies are needed to provide evidence based transitional care programs that take both medical and psychosocial aspects of diabetes care into consideration.