Children with type I diabetes can have an improvement in their condition, specifically lowered blood glucose levels, if routine pet care is incorporated into their self-care plan, a new study finds.
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center looked at how incorporating pet care may improve in blood glucose monitoring among children. The findings were published in The Diabetes Educator, and involved 28 patients from 10 to 17 years of age who had Type 1 diabetes.
For the study, participants were given a fish bowl, a fish (Betta splendens), care instructions and the recommendation to put up the fish bowl in their bedroom as much as possible.
The children were askd to feed the pet two times--in the morning and evening. Each time they do, they should also check their own blood sugar levels. They were also instructed to replace water in the fish bowl once a week and check their monitoring logs in the presence of a caregiver.
The researchers found that there was a 0.5% decrease in the A1C levels—the average blood glucose levels over the past three months—in the children's blood.
According to study senior author Dr. Olga Gupta in a UT Southwestern press release statement, teenagers seem to be one of the most challenging patients to treat because of "psychosocial factors associated with that stage of life."
While all patients had an improvement in their blood glucose levels, younger kids aged 10 to 13 years old were found to have a more significant improvement, and according to experts this may have something to do with the children's eagerness to perform the tasks.
"Children in this age group are often beginning to seek independence from their parents, and were more eager to care for the fish than some of the older adolescents," said Gupta. Parental involvement also contributed to the success of the study, according to her.
The research will continue on and Gupta and her team will also follow parents for a longer timeframe and explore different ways to improve blood sugar control.
