Sleep is critically important to children’s well-being, and inadequate sleep duration significantly increases the risk for poor health outcomes. Insufficient sleep is a common finding in the pediatric population, specifically among individuals with type 1 diabetes. The aim of this study is to determine whether there are differences in sleep and glycemic outcomes between the summer and the school year among school-aged children with type 1 diabetes.
School-aged children with type 1 diabetes enrolled in a hybrid closed-loop (HCL) automated insulin delivery (AID) and sleep study wore actigraphy watches and completed sleep diaries and surveys to assess their sleep quality and duration. Glycemic outcomes and sleep data were analyzed to determine variability between the summer and school year.
On average, children (6–17 years of age) with type 1 diabetes using an HCL AID system slept more during the school year than in the summer, although this difference did not achieve statistical significance (442.2 vs. 483.3 minutes, P = 0.053). There was also no statistically significant difference in glycemic control between summer and the school year.
School-aged children with type 1 diabetes using a hybrid closed-loop AID system did not experience statistically significant differences in sleep or glycemic outcomes between summer and the school year. Use of a hybrid closed-loop AID system may play a role in eliminating variations in sleep and glycemic outcomes between summer and the school year. Sleep is a crucial factor in the management of type 1 diabetes, and further research is needed to identify interventions to improve sleep among school-aged children.
