Behavioural and emotional problems in Malaysian children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus: A cross-sectional study in a single centre / Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies

Introduction@#Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disorder that requires a lifelong treatment regimen which may affect psychosocial development.@*Objective@#To identify behavioural and emotional problems in children and adolescents with T1DM.@*Methodology@#A cross-sectional study using the Child Behaviour Check List (CBCL) was conducted among all T1DM patients receiving treatment at the Paediatric Endocrine Unit, Hospital Tunku Azizah Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.@*Results@#Forty T1DM patients were included. The mean age of the participants was 12.4 years (SD=2.69), with 52.5% males, and 75% Malay. The average duration of illness was 4.8 years, 9 were pre-pubertal, while mean HbA1c was 9.4%. Thirty-five percent of the respondents had parent-reported internalizing problems and 17.5% had parent-reported externalizing problems. Those >12 years old had more internalizing problems (p=0.004) compared to those ≤12 years old. The differences were in the anxious/depressed syndrome subscale (p=0.001) and withdrawn/depressed syndrome subscale (p=0.015). There were no statistically significant differences in the 3 main global scores by gender, glycaemic control, duration of illness and pubertal status by univariate analysis.@*Conclusion@#T1DM patients >12 years old were at higher risk of developing psychosocial difficulties. This highlighted the benefit of screening of behavioural and emotional issues in children and adolescents with T1DM.

A cross-sectional study of behavioural disorders in children with human immunodeficiency virus / acquired immuno deficiency syndrome attending an anti-retroviral therapy centre

Background: HIV is a chronic disease which also significantly affects the behavior. This study aims at evaluating behavioral disorders in children with HIV/AIDS.Methods: This Cross-sectional study utilized the Child Behaviour Check List.Results: The overall prevalence of borderline and clinically significant behavioral problems were 69.3% (n=104). The prevalence of behavioral disorders were observed in the eight categories - anxious/depressed (borderline-7.7%, clinically significant-18.3%), withdrawn/depressed (6.7%, 18.3%), somatic problems (7.7%, 6.7%), rule-breaking behavior (7.7%, 18.3%), aggressive behavior (10.6%, 21.1%), attention problems (15.4%, 2.9%) and thought problems (9.6%, 2.9%). No social problems were observed. Internalizing problems were common in girls and externalizing problems were common in boys. As age advanced a simple linear progression in prevalence of Behavior Problems was found. There were 47.1% of Orphans in study and behavioral problems were more common in them.Conclusions: High prevalence of behavioural abnormalities warrants comprehensive management including Behavioural counselling and therapy and not just drugs for these children.