Assessment of adherence to diabetes management routines in adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Background Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in adolescents is a challenging condition during a critical period of life, requiring numerous daily tasks and regular continuous follow-ups to be maintain control and to prevent short-term and long-term complications. Hence, some discrepancies in the level of care can appear between adolescent and their caregiver. Objectives To evaluate the consistency and regularity of adolescents’ adherence to T1D routines of self-care, to compare the degree of parent-adolescent agreement on this adherence, and to evaluate the effect of the degree of adherence on diabetic control. Patients and methods The Pediatric Diabetes Routines Questionnaires Adolescent/Parent (PDRQ: A/P) was used in a cross-sectional study involving 210 adolescents and their caregivers (parent) along with the collection of their demographic, clinical, and laboratory data for statistical analysis. Results Cronbach’s alpha demonstrated very good internal consistency for PDRQ: A/P. There was a statistically significant linear association between adolescent and caregiver responses with a statistically significantly lower total PDRQ/A score in male versus female. There were a statistically significantly higher PDRQ: A/P scores (total, component 1, and component 3) in the younger age group versus The older age group. Conclusion There was a significant adolescent–parent agreement on adolescents’ adherence to T1D self-care routines. Females and younger age adolescents were more adherent to diabetes management routines than males and older age adolescents. Overall, adolescents with T1D have fair adherence to diabetes management routines.