Young people with diabetes from educated families are more likely to have a lower HbA1c, according to new research.
An American study, which looked at 39 teenagers recruited from diabetes clinics and camps, showed a link between high HbA1c levels and adverse childhood experiences.
Participants older than 12 years, alongside their parents, completed a questionnaire entitled Child and Adolescent Survey of Experiences.
The results showed 46 per cent of parents completed high school, 21 per cent had received some form of college education and 13 per cent had completed their entire college course.
The findings suggested that parental education level was linked with their child’s HbA1c.
Children of parents with at least a high school education had significantly lower mean HbA1c levels when compared with those who had less than a high school education.
Researchers also found that parental perceptions of their child’s positive experiences inversely correlated with HbA1c, but the trend did not reach significance.
Dr Vanessa Davis from the John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in Chicago, said: “These [adverse childhood experiences] include abuse and neglect and parental substance abuse, domestic violence or absence.”
The findings were unveiled at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting in Baltimore and data collection is still being collected.
