Anxiety symptoms and the risk of diabetes mellitus in Australian women: evidence from 21-year follow-up

Asthma Moderates the Association between the Big Five Personality Traits and Life Satisfaction

The current study aimed to examine whether asthma moderates the association between the Big Five personality traits and life satisfaction. By analyzing data from 3934 people with asthma (40.09% males) with a mean age of 49.2 (S.D. = 16.94) years old and 22,914 people without asthma (42.9% males) with a mean age of 45.62 (S.D. = 17.25) years old using a hierarchical regression and multiple regressions, the current study found that asthma significantly moderates the link between Neuroticism and life satisfaction and Openness and life satisfaction after controlling for other covariates. Specifically, Neuroticism was negatively related to life satisfaction whereas Agreeableness, Openness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion were positively associated with life satisfaction in people with and without asthma. However, the negative association between Neuroticism and life satisfaction and the positive association between Openness and life satisfaction were stronger in people with asthma compared to people without asthma.

Quality of life and other patient-reported outcomes in adult Lebanese patients with type 2 diabetes during COVID-19 pandemic

INTRODUCTION

Several studies have shown that COVID-19 pandemic has a negative impact on type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) patients' quality of life (QoL). However, very few studies were performed in Middle Eastern countries.

AIM

The aim of the current study was to assess, the QoL and diabetes-specific QoL, treatment satisfaction and psychological distress of Lebanese patients with T2DMs using: the Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQoL), Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire status version (DTSQs) and Kessler 10 (K10) questionnaires and to compare results to those obtained during the pre-COVID-19 period.

RESULTS

461 patients with T2DM participated in the study; 52.6% men, 47.4% women; median age 59 years old. The respective median ADDQoL and DTSQs scores were - 2.2 (interval interquartile range (IQR) - 3.9, - 0.8) (range from - 9 maximum negative impact to + 3 maximum positive impact) and 30(IQR22-36) (range from 0 maximum dissatisfaction to 36 maximum satisfaction). K10 median score was 26(IQR18-35) (range from minimum score of 10 indicating no distress to maximum score of 50 indicating severe distress). Rural dwelling, lack of exercise, current smoking, diabetic complications, injectable diabetes treatment, and previous COVID-19 infection were all associated with significantly worse ADDQoL, DTSQs, and K10 score indicating greater distress. A significant worsening of ADDQoL scores followed onset of the pandemic with no significant change in DTSQs scores.

CONCLUSION

During the COVID-19 pandemic, T2DM Lebanese patients experienced more negative impact of diabetes on QoL and mental health. Those infected with COVID-19 also reported worse QoL, treatment satisfaction and mental health. This highlights the need for community and individual support.

Investigating the association between diabetes and mental health: A train-and-test approach

Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects how the body turns food into energy. Research has demonstrated a relationship between diabetes and various mental health issues, which include psychiatric disorders and other problems that are specific for people living with diabetes. Although previous studies have shed light on the associations between diabetes and various types of mental health issues with a focus on depression and anxiety, much less is known about how diabetes is associated with other dimensions of mental health such as social dysfunction and anhedonia and loss of confidence in a large nationally representative survey from the United Kingdom. The aim of the current study is to replicate the factor structure of the GHQ-12 and investigate how diabetes is related to general mental health and dimensions of mental health. By adopting a train-and-test approach to data from the UKHLS including 2,255 diabetes patients and 14,585 age and sex-matched participants who indicated that they were not clinically diagnosed with diabetes, the current study found that hypotheses are well-supported by the results.

COVID-19-specific diabetes worries amongst diabetic patients: The role of social support and other co-variates

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every individual's life. It has been shown that mortality in people with underlying diseases including diabetes has been very high. The present study aimed to measure diabetes related worries (outcome) and their associations with social support and lifestyle (exposures) amongst people with diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

An online cross-sectional survey was completed by 928 respondents (>18 years) between 15-11-2020 and 12-12-2020. The questionnaire comprised four sections: socio-demographic details, diabetic-related worries, social support, and behavioral changes due to COVID-19. Descriptive statistics, correlations and hierarchical regression analysis were performed in the study.

RESULTS

Data from 928 respondents (51.61% male; mean age = 52.48 [SD = 11.76]; age range = 18-86 years) were analyzed. The mean score for COVID-19 specific diabetes worries was 3.13 out of 8. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the mean COVID-19-specific diabetes worries score was significantly associated with lower age, cigarette smoking, perceived poor health status, presence of other diabetic complications. Lack of social support from family, friends, work colleagues and diabetes care team and also eating more than usual were also significantly associated with COVID-19 specific diabetes worry.

CONCLUSIONS

Diabetes related worries were strongly associated with a lack of social support during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings suggest the need of social support as well as improving knowledge and guidelines is important for people with diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The use of benzodiazepines by women cared for at a Family Health Unit

OBJECTIVE

Estimate the prevalence of benzodiazepine use by adult women at a Family Health Unit and identify the risk factors associated with this usage.

METHOD

Quantitative cross-sectional study that employed secondary data developed at a Family Health Unit in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. We collected the data from the following sources: medical charts, registration forms, and the archive of prescriptions from the pharmacy at the referred health unit. We employed the chi-squared, Student's t, and Mann-Whitney tests, as well as logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

We identified 81 benzodiazepine users amongst 1,094 adult women (7.4%). Regarding the risk factors, the comparison between the groups of benzodiazepine users (n = 64) and non-users (n = 70) showed that having a chronic disease and using other psychotropic drugs were significantly associated with the use of benzodiazepines.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence found was lower than the described in previous studies performed in Primary Health Units. The group that must receive greater attention regarding the consumption of benzodiazepines is that of middle-aged women or older, with low education levels, and chronic illnesses.

Trajectories of anxiety symptoms and associations with incident cardiovascular disease in adults with type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND

Trajectories of anxiety symptoms in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and their associations with diabetes health outcomes have not been investigated. This study examined latent longitudinal trajectories of anxiety symptoms in adults with T2D and their associations with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD).

METHODS

Data were from the Evaluation of Diabetes Treatment Study, a community-based cohort study of adults aged 40-76years with T2D. Anxiety and CVD were assessed by self-report at baseline and at four annual follow-up assessments. N=832 participants without cardiovascular disease at baseline and 12-month follow-up were included in the present study. Group-based trajectories of anxiety at baseline, 12-month follow-up, and 24-month follow-up were modelled using latent class growth modeling. Associations between anxiety trajectories and CVD reported at 24-, 36-, or 48-month follow-ups were examined with logistic regression analysis adjusted for sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics.

RESULTS

Four distinct anxiety trajectories were identified, reflecting chronically low (39.4%), chronically moderate-low (47.4%), chronically moderate-high (11.1%), and chronically high (2.2%) anxiety. The likelihood of CVD was greater for the chronically moderate-low (OR=2.23, 95% CI=1.36-3.66), chronically moderate-high (OR=3.05, 95% CI=1.54-6.02), and chronically high (OR=3.61, 95% CI=1.09-12.00) anxiety trajectory groups compared to the chronically low anxiety group.

CONCLUSION

The identified latent trajectories reflected three groups with chronic courses of anxiety symptoms at different levels of severity and one group with chronically low levels of anxiety. Chronic anxiety, even at subthreshold levels, was associated with an increased risk of CVD among people with T2D.

Increased risk of diabetes in patients with anxiety disorders: A population-based study

OBJECTIVE

Few known studies have investigated the epidemiology of diabetes in patients with anxiety disorders. Therefore, the study aimed to determine the prevalence and incidence of diabetes in patients with anxiety disorders.

METHODS

The National Health Research Institute provided a database of 1,000,000 random subjects for study. We obtained a random sample aged 18years and over 766,427 subjects in 2005. Those study subjects who had at least two primary or secondary diagnoses of anxiety disorders were identified. We compared the prevalence of diabetes in anxiety patients with the general population in 2005. Furthermore, we investigated this cohort from 2006 to 2010 to detect the incident cases of diabetes in anxiety patients compared with the general population.

RESULTS

The prevalence of diabetes in patients with anxiety disorders was higher than that in the general population (11.89% vs. 5.92%, odds ratio, 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.17-1.28) in 2005. The average annual incidence of diabetes in patients with anxiety disorders was also higher than that in the general population (2.25% vs. 1.11%, risk ratio 1.34; 95% confidence interval, 1.28-1.41) from 2006 to 2010. Compared with the general population, patients with anxiety disorders revealed a higher incidence of diabetes in all age groups among both females and males.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with anxiety disorders had a much higher prevalence and incidence of diabetes in the younger adult age group than in the general population. The higher incidence of diabetes among anxiety patients was related to increased age, antipsychotic use, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia.