Socioeconomic status influencing the cessation of insulin pump therapy in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus: A cohort study

Objectives: Identify contributing factors for insulin pump cessation in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), investigating the role of socioeconomic status. Materials and Methods: This retrospective population-based pediatric cohort study was conducted at Royal hospital for children, Glasgow. Seventy-two patients (out of 323) stopped pump therapy. One was excluded as managed for transient neonatal diabetes; 11 were excluded due to insufficient data. Data were collected from electronic clinical records from January 2015 to December 2020: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values before/after pump cessation, reasons for cessation, and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) values were assessed. Results: Out of 60, 40 stopped pump therapy due to poor blood glucose (BG) control. Fifteen stopped pump therapy due to preference. Thirty-five patients (58.3%) who stopped pump therapy were from SIMD quintile of 1–2, whereas 14 (23.3%) were from the SIMD quintile of 4–5. Conclusion: Most of the patients stopped insulin pump therapy due to poor BG control and patient preference. More patients stopping insulin pump therapy were from a deprived area with a SIMD quintile score of 1 or 2.