1377-P: Driving Behaviors in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

Adolescents and adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are advised to take precautions when driving to prevent impairment due to hyper/hypoglycemia. Literature shows many adults with T1D do not use proper precautions to avoid glycemic excursions when driving, yet no known studies have examined this in adolescents with T1D. Adolescents may be at elevated risk due to risk-taking behavior associated with this age. The goal of this study is to describe driving related behaviors in adolescents with T1D. Data was collected from 53 adolescents seen in the diabetes clinic between 6/2017 and 12/2018. Driving behaviors were assessed via electronic intake form prior to the clinic visit and reviewed before providers saw patients. Of these 53 participants, 47% were female, average age was 19.4 years (SD 1.5), 53% were on CGM, and 60% were on an insulin pump. Forty-two percent reported checking their blood sugar rarely or never within 30 minutes before driving. If they had a glucose <70 mg/dL prior to driving, 47% reported waiting until a recheck glucose (after treatment) is > 70 mg/dL before driving. Only 40% reported pulling over their vehicle, treating, and waiting until their glucose was >70 mg/dL if experiencing hypoglycemia while driving or being alerted they were becoming hypoglycemic via their CGM. Seventy percent reported always having a source of rapid acting glucose available when driving. In the past month, 43% had a low blood glucose while driving. Further, 11% reported driving within a few hours of consuming alcohol, 9% reported driving while feeling the effects of alcohol or other drugs, 13% reported driving within a few hours of using marijuana, and 47% reported texting while driving. Results demonstrate many adolescents with T1D are not using safe driving practices, particularly around preventing and treating hypoglycemia, which can cause significant cognitive-motor impairment. Furthermore, many adolescents reported unsafe behaviors around substance use prior to driving and texting while driving.