Anxiety and depression in type 1 diabetes - first screening results of mental comorbidities in adolescents and young adults of the COACH consortium

The multi-center collaborative COACH consortium (Chronic Conditions in Adolescents - Implementation and Evaluation of Patient-centered Collaborative Healthcare) aims to examine mental health comorbidities in adolescents and young adults with chronic diseases. 1023 patients with type 1 diabetes at the age of 12 to 21 years were screened for symptoms of anxiety using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) during routine visits. Almost every third patient showed a positive screening test result. 17.8% of screenings for anxiety and 25.6 % of screenings for depression were pathological with screening results >= 7, respectively. In these patients with positive screenings, glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)), reflecting the adjustment and control of blood glucose, was higher than in those with negative screenings (p<0.0001). As early diagnosis and intervention have relevant impact for treatment of the somatic disease all adolescents with type 1 diabetes should be regularly screened for mental comorbidities. Based on the COACH study results evidence-based recommendations for treatments of adolescents and young adults with chronic diseases will be developed so that mental health problems will be better taken into account in the future.