Investigating the Association Between Diabetes Distress and Self-Management Behaviors

Abstract

Background: Diabetes distress has been linked with suboptimal glycemic control in patients with type 1 diabetes. We evaluated the effect of diabetes distress on self-management behaviors in patients using insulin pumps. Methods: We analyzed the impact of diabetes distress on self-management behaviors using pump downloads from 129 adults treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) at a single hospital clinic. Exclusion criteria were CSII treatment <6 months, pregnancy, hemoglobinopathy, and continuous glucose monitoring/sensor use. People were categorized into three groups based on the Diabetes Distress Scale-2 (DDS-2) score: < 2.5, 2.5-3.9, > 4. Results: Participants had a mean age of 45.2 ± 19.0 years; duration of diabetes 26.6 ± 16.2 years; duration of CSII 6.0 ± 3.5 years; HbA1c 8.0 ± 1.2%; and DDS-2 score 2.7 ± 1.3. Self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) frequency and bolus wizard usage was similar between groups. Patients with higher distress had higher HbA1c (7.7 ± 0.9 vs. 8.0 ± 0.9 vs. 8.7 ± 1.8; P = 0.004), lower frequency of set changes (4.7 ± 1.3vs. 4.8 ± 1.9 vs. 3.8 ± 1.1; P = .025), a greater number of appointments booked (5.8 ± 4.4 vs. 8.6 ± 4.8 vs. 8.1 ± 6.9; P = .021), and a greater number of appointments missed (1.9 ± 1.3 vs. 2.5 ± 1.5 vs. 3.8 ± 4.1; P = .004). Conclusions: Although in some patients, high distress may be caused by reduced self-management, in our highly trained, pump-using patients, high distress was associated with suboptimal biomedical outcomes despite appropriate self-management behaviors. Future work should further explore the relationships between diabetes distress, self-management, and glycemic control.