Transition support program may aid young adults with type 1 diabetes

(HealthDay)—Structured support for patients transitioning from pediatric to adult care for type 1 diabetes may improve outcomes, but those benefits are not sustained after completion of the intervention, according to a study published online April 22 in Diabetes Care.

Tamara Spaic, M.D., from St. Joseph's Health Care London in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues randomly assigned 205 young adults (ages 17 to 20 years) with type 1 diabetes to a transition program or standard care. The transition intervention included a transition coordinator and lasted 18 months (six months in pediatric care and 12 months in adult care).

The researchers found that those in the transition program had higher clinic attendance (P = 0.002), greater satisfaction with care (P = 0.032), and less diabetes-related distress (P = 0.049) versus those in standard care. There was also a trend toward improvement in mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c; P = 0.057) associated with the transition program. However, during the 12-month follow-up period, there was no difference between the groups for failing to attend at least one clinic visit (P = 0.846) or mean change in HbA1c (P = 0.073). At the end of follow-up, there were no differences between the groups with respect to satisfaction with care, diabetes-related distress, or quality of life.

"We anticipate that the results of this appropriately powered randomized controlled trial will help to inform a more complete and prolonged solution for transition," the authors write.

Two authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

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