Type 1 diabetic teens experience stress when monitoring condition, study finds

A new study published in the April 7 issue of Adolescent Health suggested that teens with Type 1 diabetes may undergo stress when managing their condition.

Researchers, led by Korey Hood, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children's Hospital -- monitored 146 diabetic teens for a six month period and noted that teens who started taking more responsibility for their own care (and who had more conflict with parents) became less diligent about monitoring their blood glucose levels and had increased levels of hemoglobin A1c.

"What you tend to see as you look at large-scale clinical data is that A1c trends from the age of 12 or 13 steadily climb into young adulthood, and then it starts to decline in the mid-20s," Hood said in a news release from the Center for the Advancement of Health.