Introduction: Adolescents and young adults (AYA) transitioning from pediatric to adult T1D care struggle with glycemic control and continuity of care while experiencing psychosocial complexities. The purpose of this review was to examine associations between transition interventions and relevant outcomes.

Methods: A predefined search strategy was used to retrieve papers published in the past five years evaluating transition programs for AYA with T1D. Nine observational studies and eight controlled trials were independently reviewed by two authors, with discrepancies addressed by a third.

Results: A total of 1491 AYA with T1D aged 12-39 (mean 18.5) years were represented in 17 publications. The most frequent intervention components included a transition coordinator (7), transition education (5), a multidisciplinary appointment (4), and a virtual transition program (4). Outcomes most frequently reported included HbA1c (12), satisfaction (10), psychological well-being (7), and continuity of care (7). Associations between interventions and outcomes are presented in Table 1.

Conclusions: There is a paucity of recent RCTs evaluating T1D transition interventions. While AYA with T1D reported satisfaction with a variety of interventions, programs including a transition coordinator and multidisciplinary appointment may also positively impact HbA1c, psychological well-being, and continuity of care.
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Disclosure

E.L. Lundgrin: None. J.E. Blanchette: Consultant; Self; Dexcom, Inc., Tandem Diabetes Care. A. Mucci: None.

© 2019 by the American Diabetes Association.
2019
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