Type 1 diabetes mellitus: psychosocial factors and adjustment of the pediatric patient and his/her family. Review

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is the most common chronic endocrine disease in children, with a very low incidence in the first months of life and reaching its peak during puberty (10-15 years old is the age group with the highest incidence at the time of onset). Based on the review of the scientific literature, our objective is to study the main psychosocial factors associated with the adjustment of these pediatric patients and their families. Research underscore the following risk factors: situational (stressful life events), personal (additional physical diseases, low self-esteem, emotional disturbances), and interpersonal (family breakdown and conflicts), and also protection factors (coping strategies, social support, fluent communication). There is a pressing need to deal with the disturbances that affect these diabetic patients and their families, by implementing effective health care psychological interventions that take into account psychosocial factors associated with the course of type 1 diabetes mellitus.