The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics 2018 , Vol 60 , Num 3
Glycemic control and health behaviors in adolescents with type 1 diabetes
Aylin Yetim 1 ,Müjgan Alikaşifoğlu 2 ,Firdevs Baş 3 ,Kayı Eliaçık 2 ,Gülnaz Çığ 4 ,Ethem Erginöz 4 ,Oya Ercan 5 ,Rüveyde Bundak 3
1 Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Istanbul School of Medicine, Istanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey
2 Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Cerrahpaşa School of Medicine, Istanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey
3 Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Istanbul School of Medicine, Istanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey
4 Department of Public Health, Cerrahpaşa School of Medicine, Istanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey
5 Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Cerrahpaşa School of Medicine, Istanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey
DOI : 10.24953/turkjped.2018.03.003 Yetim A, Alikaşifoğlu M, Baş F, Eliaçık K, Çığ G, Erginöz E, Ercan O, Bundak R. Glycemic control and health behaviors in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Turk J Pediatr 2018; 60: 244-254.

The purpose of this study was to determine the health/health risk behaviors of a group of Turkish adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to determine the prevalence and explore the exact effect of these behaviors on glycemic control (GC). A total of 210 adolescents (age 12–20 years; diabetes duration >6 months; no additional comorbidities), completed a self-administered questionnaire (including some questions from Health Behavior in School-aged Children study questionnaire). Subjects were divided into two groups based on the hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, measured in the last 3 months: good GC (HbA1c<8%) and poor GC (HbAc1≥8%). Chi-square tests and backward stepwise logistic regression analysis were used in statistical analyses. Of the patients, 57 had good GC and 153 had poor GC. The results of the backward stepwise logistic regression analysis indicated that being overweight and frequent electronic media use were risk factors for poor GC, whereas computer use for homework for long period of time (≥2 hours/day) was found to be a protective factor in terms of GC. Screening adolescents in terms of health/health risk behaviors such as frequent electronic media use, and giving adolescents health responsibilities should be an integral part of the follow-up of these patients, and intervention programs that lead to behavioral changes should be developed. Keywords : adolescent, health behavior, health risk behavior, glycemic control, type 1 diabetes

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