Breaking the Taboo: Illicit Drug Use among Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Background. 

The aim of the study was to explore the prevalence of illicit drug use in a group of Polish adolescents with type 1 diabetes (DM1) in comparison with a national cohort of their healthy peers. 

Methods. 

Two hundred and nine adolescents with DM1, aged 15-18 years, were studied in 2013 with an anonymous questionnaire prepared for the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). The control group was a representative sample of 12114 students at the same age who took part in ESPAD in 2011. Metabolic control was regarded as good if self-reported HbA1c was <8% or poor if HbA1c was ≥8%. 

Results. 

Lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use was lower among adolescents with DM1 than in the control group [58 (28%) versus 5524 (46%), p = 10(-5)]. Cannabis preparations were the most frequently used substances [38 (18.3%) versus 3976 (33.1%), p = 10(-5)], followed by tranquilizers, sedatives, and amphetamine. Lifetime and last 12-month use of cannabis were associated with poorer glycemic control (HbA1c ≥ 8%), p < 0.01 and 0.02, respectively. 

Conclusions. 

Adolescents with DM1 report using illicit drugs to a lesser extent than their healthy peers. The use of cannabis is associated with a poorer metabolic control in teens with DM1.

Below:  The proportion of patients who tried or did not try marijuana, according to HbA1c levels, p = 0.03; response rate to that question was 189/209.

Purchase full article at:  http://goo.gl/CJHZ5r

By:  Hogendorf AM1, Fendler W1, Sieroslawski J2, Bobeff K3, Wegrewicz K3, Malewska KI3, Przudzik MW3, Szmigiero-Kawko M4, Sztangierska B4, Mysliwiec M4,Szadkowska A1, Mlynarski W1.

• 1Department of Pediatrics, Oncology, Hematology and Diabetology, Medical University of Lodz, 91-738 Lodz, Poland.
• 2Department of Studies on Alcoholism and Other Dependencies, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland.
• 3Students' Scientific Circle at the Department of Pediatrics, Oncology, Hematology and Diabetology, Medical University of Lodz, 91-738 Lodz, Poland.
• 4Department of Pediatrics, Diabetology and Endocrinology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-211 Gdańsk, Poland.
• J Diabetes Res. 2016;2016:4153278. doi: 10.1155/2016/4153278. Epub 2015 Dec 29. 

More at:  https://twitter.com/hiv insight

And: http://twitter.com/Prison Health