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Memory matters: developmental differences in predictors of diabetes care behaviors
Sari A Soutor1, Rusan Chen, Randi Streisand
1Virginia Commenwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
Objective:
Longitudinal research shows that pediatric type 1 diabetes can result in verbal memory difficulties, yet the role of memory in the daily management of this or any other chronic illness has not been evaluated.
Methods:
Verbal memory measures from two well-standardized tests were administered to 224 youths with type 1 diabetes, aged 9 to 17. Twenty-four-hour recall interviews conducted separately with mothers and their children assessed diabetes care behaviors.
Results:
Rote verbal memory predicted blood glucose testing frequency for adolescents but not for preadolescents; and when combined with ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and age, rote verbal memory accounted for 27.6% of the variance, p <.001. Quantitative verbal working memory--along with ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and age, p <.01--accounted for 33.7% of the variance in predicting carbohydrate calories for older adolescents.
Conclusions:
Memory, in addition to demographic factors, is a significant predictor of some of the central self-care behaviors involved in diabetes management. However, memory only predicts diabetes management for older adolescents, who have greater self-care responsibility.