Association of socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics with the management and glycemic control in type 1 diabetic children from the province of El Jadida (Morocco)

Background: Diabetes is a real public health problem in children and adolescents because of its chronicity and the difficulty in the control of blood glucose levels at paediatric age. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the link of socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics with the management and glycemic control in children with type1 diabetes (T1D). Materials and Methods: The study included a sample of 184 children with T1D of 15 years old or less. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic status, characteristics and complications of the disease, diabetes management, diet, physical activity and therapeutic education of participants. Weight and height were measured and body mass index calculated. Results: The mean age of the patients surveyed was 8.49 +/- 4.1 years; the majority (68.5%) was of school age, female (53.2%) and was from low socioeconomic level (83.2%). Only 20.1% of the patients had a good glycemic control. The low socioeconomic status and overweight or obesity were significantly more prevalent in children with poor compared to those with good glycemic control (P <= 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed an association of poor glycemic control with the family history of diabetes (adjusted OR = 38.70, 95% CI: 11.61, 128.98) and the absence of therapeutic education (adjusted OR = 3.29, 95% CI: 1.006, 10.801). Conclusions: This study shows that diabetes is associated with overweight and obesity in children and that the quality of glycemic control is generally poor in these patients. The data showed also that improving the quality of life of T1D patients requires good therapeutic education, hence the need to introduce a real national policy.