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. 2025 Feb 1;25(1):21.
doi: 10.1007/s11892-025-01578-2.

A Systematic Review of Interventions for the Transition to Adult Healthcare for Young People with Diabetes

Sean DeLacey  1 , Jaclyn Papadakis  2 , Steven James  3 , Laura Cudizio  4 , Sze May Ng  5 , Sarah K Lyons  6 , Nisa M Maruthur  7 , Aleksandra Araszkiewicz  8 , Apoorva Gomber  9 , Frank J Snoek  10 , Eva Toft  11 , Carine de Beaufort  12 , Jill Weissberg-Benchell  2
Affiliations

A Systematic Review of Interventions for the Transition to Adult Healthcare for Young People with Diabetes

Sean DeLacey et al. Curr Diab Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: The transition to adult healthcare is difficult for young adults with diabetes, with declining glycemic control and reduced healthcare utilization. Efforts are needed to facilitate an effective transfer of care. Our study aimed to systematically review the literature and identify studies evaluating the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve transition readiness and/or the transfer to adult care, describe their characteristics and outcomes, and identify areas for future research.

Recent findings: Twenty-six studies were included with one randomized control trial and many pre-post studies observing the impact of transition programs. Generally, interventions had no clear benefit on metabolic outcomes, with variable improvement in care satisfaction and transition readiness. Studies often did not satisfy quality metrics, report important contextual factors (e.g. race, ethnicity) or involve family members. The current literature on interventions to improve transition readiness and transfer of care outcomes in young adults with diabetes is relatively limited with few studies applying rigorous methods. Future studies should apply formal methodology, include both medical and psychosocial outcomes and account for patient and health system context.

Keywords: Diabetes; Transfer of care; Transition; Transition readiness; Young adult.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing Interest: Dr. Maruthur has a licensing agreement with Johns Hopkins HealthCare related to a co-invented virtual diabetes prevention program for adults with prediabetes and received travel support from the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Dr. Snoek has received consulting fees from Abbott, has been a speaker for Abbott, is on the ethics committee for the INODIA trial, and is a member of the consensus committee for the European Association for the Study of Diabetes/American Diabetes Association for Type 1 diabetes management and transition of care. Dr. Snoek's institution has received research funding from Sanofi and Novo Nordisk. Dr. Ng has received a Diabetes UK grant for the UNBIASED study, received speaker fees from Insulet and Sanofi, and is a director of Brendarco LtD which undertakes mediolegal work. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no competing interests. Human/Animal Studies Consent: This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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