ABSTRACT
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to normal day-to-day life, including physical, mental, and social health. The impact of COVID-19 on quality of life in youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) is not known. Objectives: This study utilized the COVID-19 Exposure and Family Impact Survey (CEFIS) to examine COVID exposure/impact and quality of life in a pediatric T1D population over 6 months. Methods: Parents of youth with T1D (mean age 11.6±4 yrs, mean T1D duration 5.3±3.9yrs, 57.4% male) completed the CEFIS (score ranges: Exposure 0-25, Impact 0-4 with >2.5 indicating negative impact, and Distress 1-10). Parents and youth completed the PedsQL Diabetes Module 3.0, (higher scores indicate better quality of life). Measures were obtained at baseline (Sept to Nov 2020), 3 months (Dec 2020 to Feb 2021), and 6 months (Mar to May 2021). Changes in scores and associations between CEFIS and PedsQL scores were analyzed. Results: Survey scores indicated a relatively low COVID exposure at all time points (7.7, 7.9, and 8.0). Impact was unchanged throughout the study (2.7 at all times), however, it was above 2.5, indicating negative impact. Overall, distress was significantly lower at 6 months compared to baseline (4.8 to 4.4, p=0.045), yet parents also reported a significant decrease in total child quality of life at 6 months (p=0.021). Increasing CEFIS scores (Exposure, Impact, and Distress) were associated with decreasing PedsQL total scores for both parent proxy and child surveys (p<0.05 for each CEFIS scale) (Table). Conclusions: Despite relatively low COVID exposure, families of youth with T1D have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Pediatric quality of life was significantly lower with increased COVID exposure, impact, and distress, highlighting the importance for health care providers to consider the psychosocial impact of the COVID pandemic on this population. Further research is needed to determine the effect on T1D management.