Technology use in youth with type 1 diabetes and language of care other than English

Our primary aim was to describe continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and insulin pump use in youth with T1D with a preferred language of care other than English (LOE) and examine associations between diabetes technology use and hemoglobin A_1c (HbA_1c) in this population.

We assessed baseline technology use for youth with LOE and T1D seen in diabetes clinics at a single center between February 2022 and February 2023. A two-sample t-test was used to compare HbA_1c values between groups. A linear regression model was used to examine differences in HbA_1c between the 3-level technology groups with Tukey-adjusted pairwise comparisons.

Ninety-four youth with T1D and LOE with complete data on technology use were included in analysis. At baseline 66 % were using diabetes technology with 42 (45 %) using CGM only, 1 (1 %) using insulin pump only, 19 (20 %) using both insulin pump and CGM, and 32 (34 %) not using any technology. HbA_1c was significantly lower in the technology use group (Mean=9.1 %, SD=2.4) compared to the non-technology use group (Mean=10.5 %, SD=2.2) (p=0.01).

Despite advances in technology for diabetes management, about one-third of youth with T1D and LOE were not using any diabetes technology. Diabetes technology use in this group was associated with lower HbA_1c. Further work should be done to increase diabetes technology use in youth with T1D and LOE.