Associations Between Executive Function Skills and Health-Related Quality of Life among Children Living with Type 1 Diabetes.

There is limited understanding of modifiable factors influencing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among children living with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Executive function skills may be a relevant factor because they underpin the ability to successfully orchestrate T1D self-management. We examined the association between executive functioning and HRQoL among 10-17 year old children living with T1D for more than six months. Caregivers and children (n = 41) completed assessments to measure the child's executive function skills and child and caregiver HRQoL. Linear regression models estimated adjusted betas and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between child executive functioning and child and caregiver HRQoL. In adjusted models, worse executive functioning skills were associated with worse HRQoL. This pattern was consistent across caregiver and child report of the child's executive functioning, caregiver and child report of the child's HRQoL, and caregiver report of their own HRQoL. Further investigation is needed to understand how executive functioning and HRQoL are related in this population, as well as whether educating families on the role of executive functioning in diabetes self-management could improve HRQoL within the family ecosystem.