Assessment of Quality of Life in School Age Children and Adolescents with Type1 Diabetes Mellitus Attending Outpatient Clinic in Zagazig University Hospital

Diabetes mellitus type 1 is one of the most common endocrinal diseases in children and adolescents. The objectives of this study were to assess health related quality of life among type 1 diabetic children and adolescents and compare them with healthy controls and to detect some risk factors affecting their quality of life.Methods: A case control study was carried out on 114 type 1 diabetic children and adolescents aged from six to eighteen years old attending pediatric outpatient clinic at Zagazig University Hospitals and 114 healthy controls from dental clinics and relatives of cases through the period of five months from first of April to end of August 2011.Results: Type 1 diabetic cases reported poorer quality of life scores than matched control groups. It was found that there were significant inverse (negative) correlation between frequency of insulin injections per day, occurrence of hypoglycemic, hyperglycemic attacks, diabetic ketoacidosis in the last three months before the study and occurrence of long term complications and quality of life among type 1 diabetic patients. However, there is highly significant positive correlation between total functioning score and socioeconomic level of families of type 1 diabetic patients.Conclusion: Type 1 diabetes mellitus l leads to poor quality of life among patients due to disease itself, its complications and its life long treatment.Key words: Diabetes mellitus type 1- Quality of life.