Sleep in children with type 1 diabetes and their parents in the T1D Exchange

Abstract Objectives Sleep has physiological and behavioral impacts on diabetes outcomes, yet little is known about the impact of sleep disturbances in children with type 1 diabetes. The current study sought to characterize sleep in children with type 1 diabetes and in their parents and to examine the associations between child sleep, glycemic control and adherence, parent sleep and well-being, parental fear of hypoglycemia, and nocturnal caregiving behavior. Methods Surveys were emailed to parents of 2- to 12-year-old participants in the Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) Exchange clinic registry. Clinical data were obtained from the registry for the 515 respondents. Results In our sample, 67% of children met criteria for poor sleep quality. Child sleep quality was related to glycemic control (HbA1c of 7.9% [63 mmol/mol] in children with poor sleep quality vs 7.6% [60 mmol/mol] in children with non-poor sleep quality; P  Conclusions Sleep may be a modifiable factor to improve glycemic control and reduce parental distress.