Mental health in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes: results from a large population-based study

BACKGROUND: Diabetes has previously been linked to mental health problems in adolescents, but more recent studies have yielded mixed findings. The aim of the current study was to compare symptoms of mental health problems, sleep and eating disturbances in adolescents with and without Type 1 diabetes in a population based sample. METHODS: Data were taken from the youth@hordaland study, a large population based study in Hordaland County in Norway conducted in 2012. In all, 9883 adolescents aged 16–19 years (53% girls) provided self-reported data on both diabetes and a range of instruments assessing mental health symptoms, including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behaviours, hyperactivity, impulsivity, inattention, perfectionism, resilience, sleep problems and eating behaviour. RESULTS: 40 adolescents were classified as having Type 1 diabetes (prevalence 0.4%). We found that adolescents with Type 1 diabetes did not differ from their peers on any of the mental health measures. CONCLUSIONS: This is one of the first population-based studies to examine mental health of adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. There was no evidence of increased psychopathology across a wide range of mental health measures. These findings contradict previous studies, and suggest that Type 1 diabetes is not associated with an increased risk of psychosocial problems.