Health-related quality of life in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus from Montenegro: relationship to metabolic control

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (TIDM) in Montenegro compared with healthy controls and to estimate the effect of metabolic control on perceptions of HRQOL. Methods: This study involved children and adolescents with T1DM, age- and gender-matched healthy children and their parents. Children and adolescents with T1DM and their parents completed Peds QL 4.0 Generic Core Scales (GCS) and PedsQL 3.0 Diabetes Module. Healthy children and their parents completed self-and proxy-report of Peds QL 4.0 GCS. Results: Our study (self- and proxy-report) showed that children and adolescents with T1DM had lower HRQOL on domain "Psychosocial health" and "School functioning" compared with healthy population (p = 0.008; p <= 0.001). Lower glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) values were associated with fewer worries, and better health perception by diabetic children and their parents. We did not find notable differences between boys and girls on health perception. Different age groups reported similar QOL. Parents reported that the illness has a greater impact on children's lives than the children reported themselves. Conclusions: Compared with the healthy children, the HRQOL was lower among children and adolescents with T1DM. Lower HbA(1c) was associated with better quality of life.