Average HBA1C By Age - Children with Type 1 Diabetes

As part of my recent study to understand what affects HBA1C results in Children with Type 1 Diabetes, today I wanted to look at the average HBA1C by age. The aim is to find out which are the easiest years to get the best control and which are the hardest. I will also be looking to see if insulin regime also plays a part, for example do teens do better with an Insulin Pump or MDI.

In 2015 over 300 parents of Children with Type 1 Diabetes  participated in a survey that I carried out online. All participants were members of various support groups on Facebook. It became apparent that this group of children already had better HBA1C results than the national average, probably because these parents are amongst the most committed to improving blood glucose control for their children.

AVERAGE HBA1C BY AGE GROUP

The overall average HBA1C of the group was 7.8%.  Here we take a look at the average HBA1C by age group. It makes very interesting reading.

Does CGMS Improve Blood Glucose Control in Children?

Today I wanted to share with you the findings of my study to discover if CGMS improves blood glucose control in children.

WHAT DOES CGMS STAND FOR?

CGMS stands for Continuous Glucose Monitoring System. A very basic explanation of CGMS, a user wears a sensor on their body that checks the glucose levels in interstitial fluid, a transmitter then sends this constant data to a display, therefore users can see constantly what their levels are. They also have alarms for high and low levels.

At this time very few children in the UK have access to CGMS, funding from the NHS is not readily available in most areas, therefore many parents self fund these expensive systems.

Insulin Pump VS MDI - Which Gives The Best Control For Children With Type 1 Diabetes

Insulin Pump VS MDI, it's a dilemma for many parents of children with Type 1 Diabetes, at some point in their journey. The benefits of an insulin pump are promoted as giving better control and also improving quality of life, though for most people the transition from MDI to Insulin Pump is quite scary.