Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders in Children with Type 2 Diabetes

The objectives of this study were to determine the frequency of psychiatric illnesses in a Type 2 pediatric diabetic cohort and to examine if there were any significant demographic differences between diabetic children with psychiatric disorders and diabetic children without psychiatric disorders. A retrospective chart review was performed on patients from two southeastern children's hospitals.

In the study, 26.2% (67 of 256) of diabetic patients were diagnosed with neuropsychiatric disorders (NPD). A comparison between gender frequencies of affected and unaffected patients suggested a statistical difference (P = 0.009). It appears that pediatric diabetic males are affected with NPD to a greater extent than females. Patients diagnosed with neurological disorders showed a body mass index average of 39.03, which was statistically different from non-diagnosed NPD patients (P = 0.0313).

This is the first report to demonstrate the frequency of psychiatric disorders in a cohort of pediatric Type 2 diabetics in the southeastern US. This study provides information regarding children afflicted with Type 2 diabetes and the frequency of neuropsychiatric morbidities. This information may be useful for crafting future health policies and quality improvement interventions

Southern Medical Journal: December 2010 - Volume 103 - Issue 12 - pp 1214-1218 doi: 10.1097/SMJ.0b013e3181f96d5f