Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The discovery of a chronic pathology in a child upsets the pre-existing family balance and generates emotional reactions in the family. With the incidence of type 1 diabetes doubling over the past 30 years, many families find themselves faced with this emblematic situation.

Objectives: To describe the parental experience of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in adolescents.

Materials and Methods: Retrospective descriptive study, carried out at the Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases Department of Casablanca, during the year 2022, including 45 parents of adolescent type 1 diabetics followed in transition consultation, questioned about the experience of the announcement diabetes.

Results: The circumstances of the diagnosis were an inaugural ketosis in 43 cases, and only 2 cases of diabetic ketoacidosis, our patients were aged between 15 and 19 years. The testimony of the parents was collected on average 6 months after the diagnosis. The announcement was made to both parents in 32 cases and the mother alone in 8 cases. Fear of the future was reported in 34 parents, and shock in 30 parents, thus representing the most frequently cited affects, followed by anxiety in 24 parents, and guilt in 5 parents, including 2 diabetic parents. All the parents interviewed said they wanted an information and education program dedicated to parents.

Conclusions: The trauma caused by the announcement of diabetes, a chronic disease requiring a change in the lifestyle of the whole family justifies bringing the 2 parents together from the initial interview to inform them about diabetes and allay some of their fears as well as to educate them on acute complications at first and degenerative later.