Diabetes‐related distress in people with type 2 diabetes: experience from a community diabetes clinic

Abstract

AbstractBackground: Diabetes distress is the term used to describe the diabetes‐specific emotional distress resulting from the challenges of managing this demanding chronic condition.Aims: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of diabetes distress and its subtypes in adults with type 2 diabetes who attended our community‐based clinics and to investigate the relationship between diabetes distress scores and demographic factors and diabetes variables (HbA1c and treatment regimen).Methods: Patients were referred to our specialist diabetes team by primary care teams. Clinical details, including current treatment regimen and recent HbA1c result, were recorded. Patients then completed the Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS) 17 questionnaire. Data from all 82 patients who attended our clinic from May 2022 to November 2022 were analysed.Results: A high level of diabetes distress (mean score of ≥3) was found in 17 patients (20.7%), and a moderate level of diabetes distress was found in 22 patients (26.8%). Patients with an HbA1c of >90mmol/mol had significantly higher mean regimen‐related distress than those with an HbA1c of <60mmol/mol (2.58±1.18 vs 1.86±0.8, respectively; p=0.03). In addition, patients with higher HbA1c had higher diabetes‐related emotional distress than those with lower HbA1c. However, this result did not demonstrate statistical significance. Conversely, patients with optimal HbA1c levels had significantly lower mean interpersonal distress scores than the rest of the cohort (1.13±0.99 vs 1.80±0.99, respectively; p=0.01).Conclusions: Diabetes distress is common among patients attending community‐based diabetes services. Further research is needed to determine the most effective strategies for reducing diabetes distress and improving clinical outcomes.