Diabetes Distress in Young Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Survey in China
Yanfen Hu, Lingxia Li, Jun Zhang
Abstract
Background . Diabetes distress is a negative emotion related to diabetes management, which can compromise self-care and management of diabetes. However, few studies on diabetes distress have focused on young adults with type 2 diabetes in China. Methods . A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Using a convenient sampling method, 98 young adults with type 2 diabetes who were admitted to our hospital from June 2017 to July 2018 were selected as research subjects. They were investigated using a basic demographic questionnaire, Diabetes Distress Scale, Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Measure, and Audit of Disease Knowledge. Pearson’s correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to analyze the influencing factors of diabetic distress. Results . Among participants, 90.82% suffered from diabetes distress with an average score of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><mml:mn>3.01</mml:mn><mml:mo>±</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.58</mml:mn></mml:math>. Regimen-related, emotional burden-related, and interpersonal-related distress were the most frequently reported as severe. The results of the single-factor analysis showed that gender (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.019</mml:mn></mml:math>), age (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.003</mml:mn></mml:math>), occupation (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.022</mml:mn></mml:math>), smoking (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo><</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.001</mml:mn></mml:math>), and diabetes complications (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M6"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.001</mml:mn></mml:math>) were the main factors affecting diabetes distress. The correlation analysis showed that diabetes distress was negatively correlated with the level of diabetic self-management (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M7"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo><</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.001</mml:mn></mml:math>, <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M8"><mml:mi>r</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.377</mml:mn></mml:math>) but not with the level of diabetes knowledge (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M9"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.052</mml:mn></mml:math>, <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M10"><mml:mi>r</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.197</mml:mn></mml:math>). The results of a multiple regression analysis showed that self-management level (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M11"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.001</mml:mn></mml:math>, 95% CI: -0.039-0.011), age (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M12"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.002</mml:mn></mml:math>, 95% CI: -0.463-0.104), smoking (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M13"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.018</mml:mn></mml:math>, 95% CI: -0.504-0.048), and complications (<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M14"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.009</mml:mn></mml:math>, 95% CI: -0.517-0.076) accounted for 35.42% of the total variation in diabetes distress. Conclusion . Young adults with type 2 diabetes reported severe diabetes distress. Age, smoking, and diabetes complications were the main factors influencing diabetes distress in young adults with type 2 diabetes. Results of the present study are fundamental in selecting targeted measures for alleviating diabetes distress and thus improving the quality of life in these patients.