Children with type I diabetes may develop episodes of hypoglycemia, an abnormal decrease in the blood sugar level. Severe hypoglycemia can temporarily affect thinking and other cognitive abilities, but the risk of permanent effects is not known. Researchers from the Nemours Children's Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and St. Louis Children's Hospital examined the long-term effects of hypoglycemia on cognitive abilities in children.

The tests measured intelligence, the ability to plan and pay attention, and verbal and other abilities in 142 6- to 15-year-olds with type I diabetes who underwent cognitive testing three times during the 18-month study. The parents of the children also noted when their child appeared to experience hypoglycemia, and a nurse helped determine the severity of the hypoglycemic episode.

During the study period, 58 of the children experienced a total of 111 episodes of severe hypoglycemia. However, the occurrence or frequency of hypoglycemia didn't have measurable permanent effects on children's intelligence or cognitive ability scores over the 18-month follow-up period.

What This Means to You

Periods of decreased blood sugar can cause temporary physical and cognitive problems for kids with type I diabetes, but the results of this study indicate that these effects aren't permanent in 6- to 15-year-olds with the condition. The researchers who conducted this study also cautioned that more subtle long-term effects on cognitive function may not have been detected and that the results can't be assumed to hold true for children under the age of 6 years. If your child has diabetes, it's important to work with his or her doctor and other members of the diabetes management team to use medication, diet, and exercise to help manage the condition.

Source: Tim Wysocki, PhD; Michael A. Harris, PhD; Nelly Mauras, MD; Larry Fox, MD; Alexandra Taylor, MA; S. Craig Jackson, BS; Neil H. White, MD, CDE; Diabetes Care, April 2003

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: May 2003