Addressing stress management could improve type 2 diabetes control

Helping patients deal with the stress and commitments that result from type 2 diabetes could reduce the amount of diabetes control problems people experience.
The purpose of the Medical University of South Carolina’s study was to assess how the promotion of self-care understanding affected the negative impact diabetes can have on patients.
Researchers recruited 302 adults with type 2 diabetes and asked them to complete questionnaires. These included measures for diabetes knowledge, self-care understanding and diet adherence. The mean age of the participants was 66-years-old.
They also filled in a Meaning of Illness (MIQ) questionnaire, including questions on relationships, stress and the effect of diabetes on day-to-day living.
After possible variables were accounted for, a positive and significant association was noted between self-care understanding of diabetes and stress.
Meanwhile, a negative and significant association was found between self-care understanding and diet adherence with little effect of illness.
Researchers believe that patients understanding the negative effect of diabetes when promoting self-care understanding and diet adherence can help patients address the stress and changing commitments that result from diabetes.
“These results point to the need for considering how a patient with diabetes views the disease and its effect on his or her day-to-day experiences. In addition, the results show that helping patients address the stress and changing commitments that result from diabetes may help decrease the amount of diabetes control problems,” the researchers wrote.