Endocrine Abstracts

Aims: To present an analysis of the evidence related to the prevalence and incidence of diabetes type 1 or type 2 in children and adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, assess available support on managing their diabetes, and the services they receive, investigate the available structured education programs tailored for people with IDD.

Methods: We conducted different searches of multiple databases.

(PUBMED, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Wiley Library) to find relevant articles.

Results: We identified a total of 8 studies: Four studies addressed the prevalence of diabetes in people with an intellectual and developmental disability, Three addressed the impact of diabetes on their health and well-being, and one addressed the available diabetes programs adapted for people with IDD. The prevalence of diabetes in children and adolescents with an intellectual and developmental disability is inconclusive, and the incidence of diabetes in this category is unknown. There is some evidence to support the assumption that children and adolescents with an intellectual and developmental disability might be at higher risk of developing diabetes than their peers. In general, the quality of the evidence on which to base prevention and management strategies is limited.

Conclusions: There are limited studies focused on the prevalence, incidence, and impact of diabetes among children and adolescents with an intellectual and developmental disability. Continuous research is necessary for this field, and especially further studies are necessary to develop new approaches, evaluation tools, educational resources, and diabetes care support services appropriate to the needs of children and adolescents with an intellectual and developmental disability.

Keywords: diabetes, intellectual disabilities, family support, diabetes- management, prevalence, adolescents.