Parental involvement buffers associations between pump duration and metabolic control among adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVES To examine pump duration associations with adolescents' metabolic control and whether parental involvement moderated this association. METHODS This study used a cross-sectional sample of 10- to 14-year-olds with diabetes (N = 252, 53.6% female) and parents' reported parental involvement; HbA1c was obtained from medical records. Half (50.8%) were on an insulin pump (continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion, CSII), with the remainder prescribed multiple daily injections (MDI). RESULTS Adolescents on CSII displayed better HbA1c than those on MDI. A curvilinear association revealed that participants on CSII for <2 years showed a positive pump duration-HbA1c association, while those on CSII longer showed no association. Parental involvement interacted with pump duration to predict HbA1c. Pump duration was associated with poorer HbA1c only when parents were relatively uninvolved. CONCLUSIONS Within the limitations of a cross-sectional design, data suggest that adolescents on CSII have better HbA1c than those on MDI, but may experience a period of deterioration that can be offset by parental involvement.