Social Determinants of Health, Goals and Outcomes in High-Risk Children With Type 1 Diabetes

Objectives: Despite advances in technology and type 1 diabetes (T1D) care, children from low-income families continue to have suboptimal outcomes and increased health-care utilization. In this study, we describe social determinants of health (SDOH) in high-risk children with T1D, as well as their SDOH-related priority goals, and assess the correlation between SDOH, glycemic control and health-care utilization. Methods: Caregivers of children aged 4 to 18 years with a diagnosis of T1D of >1 year, poor glycemic control (glycated hemoglobin [A1C] ≥9.5%) or high health-care utilization (≥2 diabetes-related hospitalizations, emergency department attendances or missed outpatient appointments in the previous year) were included. Primary caregiver health-related quality of life (HRQOL), self-efficacy (Maternal Self-Efficacy in Diabetes [MSED] scale) and SDOH were assessed. Goals were identified after assessment by a community health worker. Results: Fifty-three families were included, most (n=48, 91%) of whom had government insurance. Children had a median age of 13.4 (interquartile range [IQR], 12 to 15.3) years and a median A1C of 11.1% (IQR, 10% to 13%). Almost half of the families (n=24, 45%) reported at least 1 adverse SDOH. One or more adverse SDOH was associated with significantly lower total HRQOL scores (56.6 [IQR, 38.5 to 70.7] vs 77.8 [IQR, 60.8 to 92.4], p=0.004), but not associated with A1C (p=0.3), emergency department visits (p=0.9) or MSED (p=0.5). Conclusions: Screening for adverse SDOH and addressing these barriers to glycemic control is not part of routine T1D care. In children with poorly controlled T1D and high health-care utilization, we have demonstrated a high prevalence of adverse SDOH, which may represent a modifiable factor to improve outcomes in this patient population.