COVID-19 and Diabetes Management in Teens

What you need to know

Diabetes is a common condition that affects African American children and teens and their families more often than other groups, and they are at higher risk for complications from the disease. Regular education and support for African American children and teens on how to manage their condition is important to help them prevent complications.

At the same time, recent studies have shown that African Americans also at greater risk of getting COVID-19 and may be more likely to experience the pandemic’s damaging economic and mental health effects. It is important to understand how all these things interact in children and adolescents’ lives and how this affects their health and access to care for their diabetes.

What will this research do?

This research builds on a clinical trial that was already underway when the COVID-19 pandemic started. The clinical trial is testing a new method of diabetes management for 155 African American teenagers. The support method is a computer program that helps parents stay involved with their teens’ diabetes management. The program was originally designed to be used in a clinic during regular visits, but it can also be used at home.

As COVID-19 spread and fewer people began to seek health care for chronic conditions, the researchers quickly saw the need to find out how the pandemic would also affect diabetes management for the children and families enrolled in their study.

The new study will look at three pandemic-related stressors: mental distress, lower use of health care (such as going to the doctor less), and loss of economic resources (such as a parent being laid off). The researchers will contact the participants from the original study three times over a period of six months to ask about these stressors and how they are affecting the teens’ health and disease management. This information may help researchers develop ways to help these teens and others like them in the future.

Why is this important?

Studies have shown that African American families experience both chronic illnesses and economic hardships from COVID-19 at higher rates than other groups. Learning more about how these factors intersect may help researchers and health care providers find more ways to reduce these disparities.

Where can I go to learn more?

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Type 1 Diabetes

• Information about type 1 diabetes.

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities: Diabetes

• Statistics about health disparities in diabetes and links to diabetes resources in several languages.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health: Diabetes and African Americans

• Research about diabetes among African Americans.

Sources

Ellis DA. (2020). Effectiveness trial of an e-health intervention to support diabetes care in minority youth. NIH RePORTER. Retrieved March 26, 2021, from https://reporter.nih.gov/search/kF6KLetR0EWIoOhPYbf-Zw/project-details/9910386

Ellis DA. (2021). Effects of COVID-19 related stressors on an effectiveness trial of an e-health intervention: administrative supplement. NIH RePORTER. Retrieved March 26, 2021, from https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10269074

Saydah S, Imperatore G, Cheng Y, Geiss LS, Albright A. (2017). Disparities in Diabetes Deaths Among Children and Adolescents — United States, 2000–2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2017;66:502–505. Retrieved April 15, 2021 from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6619a4.htm