Controlling diabetes improves kids’ attentiveness

	Tweet

The attention span of diabetic children in the classroom appears to improve when their blood sugar levels are stabilized, researchers from Arizona State University in Tempe report.

Dr. David L. Wodrich and colleagues observed four boys with type 1 diabetes for 10 days while they were in the classroom, to assess their attentiveness. After that, the children were fitted with an insulin pump, which kept their blood sugar levels on an even keel. They were then observed again for 10 days.

The researchers found all of the boys showed improvements in behavior while they were performing learning tasks and when they were “off-task”. Improvements in the two categories of behavior averaged 20 percent and 34 percent, respectively, according to findings published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

The changes in classroom attention “may have meaningful implications on the participants’ lives, as well as those of their peers and teachers,” Wodrich and colleagues write.

“Such changes may signal better long-term academic gains and diminished need for teacher time devoted to management and redirection in the long run,” they conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of Pediatrics, February 2006.

RELATED STORIES:
Phone contact with nurses linked with better outcomes for women with gestational diabetes   Death rate drops among Americans with diabetes -CDC   Correct treatment of common diabetic foot infections can reduce amputations   “Pre-diabetes,” diabetes rising among U.S. teens   Experimental bariatric surgery controls blood sugar in rats with diabetes   53 millions Americans might develop diabetes by 2025   New inflammation hormone link may pave way to study new drugs for type 2 diabetes   Diabetic retinopathy research could reduce screening costs   Liver fat gets a wake-up call that maintains blood sugar levels   Low testosterone levels could raise diabetes risk for men   Prosthetic lets diabetic get a foot up on life   Dealing with Diabetes, One Patient at a Time

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]