Young people's experiences of managing Type 1 diabetes at university: a national study of UK university students

Kellett, Joanne, Sampson, Mike, Swords, Francesca, Murphy, Helen R, Clark, Allan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2965-8941, Howe, Amanda, Price, Chris, Datta, Vipan and Myint, Khin Swe (2018) Young people's experiences of managing Type 1 diabetes at university: a national study of UK university students. Diabetic Medicine, 35 (8). pp. 1063-1071. ISSN 0742-3071

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Abstract

Aim: Little is known about the challenges of transitioning from school to university for young people with Type 1 diabetes. In a national survey, we investigated the impact of entering and attending university on diabetes self‐care in students with Type 1 diabetes in all UK universities. Methods: Some 1865 current UK university students aged 18–24 years with Type 1 diabetes, were invited to complete a structured questionnaire. The association between demographic variables and diabetes variables was assessed using logistic regression models. Results: In total, 584 (31%) students from 64 hospitals and 37 university medical practices completed the questionnaire. Some 62% had maintained routine diabetes care with their home team, whereas 32% moved to the university provider. Since starting university, 63% reported harder diabetes management and 44% reported higher HbA1c levels than before university. At university, 52% had frequent hypoglycaemia, 9.6% reported one or more episodes of severe hypoglycaemia and 26% experienced diabetes‐related hospital admissions. Female students and those who changed healthcare provider were approximately twice as likely to report poor glycaemic control, emergency hospital admissions and frequent hypoglycaemia. Females were more likely than males to report stress [odds ratio (OR) 4.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.19–7.16], illness (OR 3.48, 95% CI 2.06–5.87) and weight management issues (OR 3.19, 95% CI 1.99–5.11) as barriers to self‐care. Despite these difficulties, 91% of respondents never or rarely contacted university support services about their diabetes. Conclusion: The study quantifies the high level of risk experienced by students with Type 1 diabetes during the transition to university, in particular, female students and those moving to a new university healthcare provider.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	diabetes,diabetes type 1,young people,university,transition,health care delivery,sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Clinical Trials Unit Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Epidemiology and Public Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Services and Primary Care Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Public Health and Health Services Research (former - to 2023) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Metabolic Health
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	13 Mar 2018 12:30
Last Modified:	19 Oct 2023 02:09
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66482
DOI:	10.1111/dme.13656

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