Neurocognitive Outcomes of Children with Type One Diabetes - Essay Example

T1DM can have various effects on children’s memory and that it can also result in harmful structural brain changes that may create physical, cognitive, emotional and psychological impacts as children turn into adolescents, up until their adulthood and old age. Previous studies have correlated hyperglycemia episodes with the volume of the hippocampus but limited information is available on the relationship between hippocampus volume and cognitive functions. By correlating cognitive function in children and adults with hippocampal volume, researchers will be able to design more accurate diagnostic tools for the condition.

Whether the changes in the structure of the hippocampus can be reversed is also a research area that should be given attention. This study explores whether episodes of severe hypoglycemia have an impact on the neuropsychological outcome of children with Type 1 diabetes, and utilizes MRI techniques as well as various neuropsychological tests to detect possible neurological deficits.The prevalence of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus has been steadily rising for many countries with a general yearly increase of around 3% to 5% in Canada (Foulds et al., 2012, p. 128; Patterson et al., 2014, p. 162).

Patterson et al. (2014) presented the findings of the 2013 International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Atlas that estimated the incidence of T1DM all over the world for children below 15 years old. Canada has an incidence rate of 25.9 (for 100,000 people under 15 years old). Estimations for T1DM prevalence included “Edmonton, Manitoba, Calgary, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Newfoundland, and Labrador” and they show that 9 out of 1000 children have T1DM (Patterson et al., 2014, p. 168).

Canada is sixth in the top 10 countries with T1DM based on this measuring rate (Patterson et al., 2014, p. 169). Furthermore, ethnic minorities have higher rates of T1DM compared to white populations for both Canada and the U.S.Newhook et al. (2012) conducted a retrospective study to determine the provincial incidence of T1DM in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), which reported a high incidence rate last 2006 in Canada and the world