Managing Type 1 Diabetes among Saudi adults on insulin pump therapy during the COVID-19 lockdown

Abstract

Background and aims The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected people's lives including patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). We aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on psychological status, self-management behaviors, and diabetes care maintenance among Saudi adults with T1DM using insulin pump therapy. Methods This cross-sectional study used a web survey to collect data on Saudi adults with T1DM who were treated in the specialized insulin pump clinic at King Abdulaziz Medical City-Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. We used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and General Anxiety Disorder-7 scales to measure depression and anxiety. Results Of the 70 patients who received the survey, 65 completed it. Overall, 23.1% and 29.2% of the patients reported moderate to severe and mild depression, respectively; 18.5% and 24.6% reported moderate to severe and mild anxiety, respectively. Compared with pre-lockdown, adherence to a healthy diet and regular physical activity decreased in 67.7% and 41.5% of the patients, respectively. Most patients maintained their adherence to insulin pump behaviors; frequent self-monitoring of blood glucose increased in 47% of glucometer users. Most patients benefited from phone visits or virtual education sessions, but 66.2% of the patients reported difficulty obtaining at least one type of insulin pump supply. Conclusions Promoting self-management behaviors and psychological wellbeing of patients with T1DM using insulin pump therapy is crucial during a lockdown. Telemedicine is a useful alternative to in-person appointments, but strategies to ensure that patients have access to adequate resources during lockdown must be developed.

Perception of virtual clinics among Saudi adults with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Additionally, our participants obtained an average perception value of 67.76 ± 19.9%, suggesting that the majority had a good perception toward the virtual phone clinic for the routine care of T1DM. This is in agreement with another cross-sectional web-based study done in our institution during lockdown in Saudi Arabia, wherein the majority of insulin pump-treated T1DM patients rated the virtual phone visit they had as beneficial [ 18 ]. Moreover, Fung et al.…”

“…With regards to patient perception toward the virtual phone clinic in the present study, around two thirds of patients agreed or strongly agreed that virtual phone clinics have improved their diabetes control, ability to routinely conduct their follow-up with their physician, and improved their access to healthcare, as well as feeling satisfied with the phone call-assisted healthcare service compared to traditional clinics. Telemedicine has been reported to allow patients with diabetes to easily communicate with a healthcare provider in the comfort of their home [ 9 , 18 ], and patients were able to receive their healthcare needs [ 18 ]. The online survey study of Fung et al.…”

The COVID-19 lockdown does not necessarily worsen diabetes control, in spite of lower physical activity — a systematic review

“…In the quality assessment, 8 studies (32%) were found to be unsatisfactory [16,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25] and 17 (68%) studies met the criteria of satisfactory quality using NOS quality assessment criteria. The major sources of bias were representativeness (n = 24), control of potential confounders (n = 24), and unpowered sample size (n = 21).…”

Effects of COVID-19 Lockdown on Managing Diabetes Mellitus Among Sudanese Insulin Pump Users, A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The data was collected by phone call interviews using a well-structured questionnaire. Most of it was taken from Sultan F. Magliah and his colleague's questionnaire in Saudi Arabia (10).…”