Relationship between diabetes health literacy, distress, burnout, social support, complications, self-care behaviors, and quality of life among patients with type 2 diabetes: a path analysis study

INTRODUCTION

Improving the quality of life (QOL) is the most important goal of early diagnosis and treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Numerous studies have indicated the positive effects of health literacy, social support and self-care behaviors and the negative effects of diabetes distress and burnout on the QOL of patients with T2D. Understanding these factors is crucial for people with diabetes. However, no study has investigated the simultaneous effects of these variables on QOL. In this study, our goals were to find out how these variables are related to each other, in addition, which variables play the role of mediating variables, and finally, what is the cumulative effect of these variables in predicting the QOL of patients with T2D. So, this study aimed to examine the relationship between diabetes health literacy (DHL), distress, burnout, social support, complications of diabetes, self-care behaviors, and QOL among patients with T2D by application Path analysis method.

METHODS

In this study 929 participants were entered to study by cluster sampling method and finally, data were analyzed among 820 participants. Data were gathered by self-report and with seven tools of Demographic section, DHL Scale, Diabetes distress scale, Diabetes Burnout scale, Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ), Perceived social support, Diabetes Quality of Life (DQOL) Questionnaire. The software's of SPSS version 24 and AMOS version 24 were used for analysis.

RESULTS

The variables of DHL, social support, diabetes distress, and complications of diabetes predicted 38% variance in diabetes burnout (R2 = 0.38). Greatest impact on diabetes burnout was related to diabetes distress (estimate total effect = 0.539). The variables of DHL, social support, diabetes distress, complications of diabetes, and diabetes burnout predicted 24% variance in self- care behaviors (R2 = 0.24). Greatest impact on self- care behaviors was related to DHL (estimate total effect = 0.354). The variables of DHL, social support, diabetes distress, diabetes burnout, complications of diabetes, and self- care behaviors predicted 49% variance in DQOL (R2 = 0.49). Greatest impact on DQOL was related to variables of diabetes distress (estimate total effect = -0.613), DHL (estimate total effect = 0.225), diabetes burnout (estimate total effect = -0.202), complications of diabetes (estimate total effect = - 0.173), social support (estimate total effect = 0.149), and self -care (estimate total effect = 0.149), respectively.

CONCLUSION

To improve QOL in patients with T2D, health care providers must develop interventions that increase DHL of diabetic. Because DHL can decrease distress and burnout, enhance self -care skills, create supportive networks, and ultimately improve QOL in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Social support in recently diagnosed diabetic patients: Risk factor for depression?

Background: social support is important for adaptation in chronic diseases, such as diabetes and depression, because it favors recovery and adherence to treatment. Introducing its evaluation in the follow-up of diabetic patients can reduce complications derived from secondary non-adherence. Aims: to establish social support in diabetic patients and its correlation with depressive symptoms. Methods: a cross-sectional analytical study nested in a cohort of 173 recently diagnosed diabetic patients (<6 months) in Colombia over 18 years of age, treated in a cardiovascular risk program in 2022. The Chronic Illness Social Support Inventory was used. Results: Most of the participants were women (77.5%); single(83.8%), age (mean = 62.6 years (SD 12.3)); glycemia (mean = 146.4 (SD 65.5)), glycosylated hemoglobin (mean = 7.6 (SD 1.7)). Cronbach's α coefficient for the general scale of the social support instrument was 0.9859. The mean social support was 168.5 (SD 37.4), range 38-228. The total social support score was normally distributed (Shapiro Wilk p > 0.05). The correlation between domains was statistically significant. The PHQ9 total score was significantly associated with the domains of Personal Interaction and Guide but did not significantly correlate with the overall social support score. The respondents who were at risk of developing depression were referred for treatment. Conclusions: findings suggest that perceived social support may play a significant role in the prevention and treatment of depression in diabetic patients. It is desirable that health professionals consider evaluating and enhancing social support to improve their mental health. More research is needed to gain a comprehensive understanding of this relationship.

Role of diabetes health literacy, psychological status, self-care behaviors, and life satisfaction in predicting quality of life in type 2 diabetes

One of the factors that can affect the quality of life is the psychological status of people. Also, the psychological status of individuals can be affected by other variables. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the role of diabetes health literacy, psychological status, self-care behaviors, and life satisfaction in predicting the quality of life in Iranian patients with type 2 diabetes. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran in 2021 among 300 patients with type 2 diabetes. The method of selecting the participants in this study was the proportional stratified sampling method. Data collection instruments included six questionnaires of demographic questionnaire and diabetes status, DASS-21 questionnaire (depression, anxiety, and stress), diabetes health literacy scale, self-care behavior questionnaire, satisfaction with life scale (SWLS), and quality of life questionnaire. Statistical methods such as independent sample t test, one-way analysis of variance, linear regression test, and Pearson correlation were used to analyze the data. Based on the results of Pearson correlation test, there was a positive and significant correlation between diabetes health literacy (r = 0.438, p < 0.001), depression (r = - 0.380, p < 0.001), anxiety (r = - 0.355, p < 0.001), stress (r = - 0.423, p < 0.001), and SWLS (r = 0.265, p < 0.001) with quality of life. Based on the results of linear regression, variables of diabetes health literacy, life satisfaction, self -care behaviors, depression, stress, anxiety, age of onset of diabetes and diabetes duration were able to predict 31% of the quality of life (p < 0.001). The results of this study indicated that diabetes health literacy, life satisfaction, stress and the duration of diabetes are able to predict the quality of life of patients with diabetes. Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to these effective variables training programs, especially health literacy, the effect of which is very obvious in this study.

Increased Patient Empowerment Is Associated with Improvement in Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Findings from the INDICA Study

Introduction. In cross-sectional analyses, higher levels of patient empowerment have been related to lower symptoms of anxiety and depression. The aims of this study are: (1) to assess if patient empowerment predicts anxiety and depression symptoms after 12 and 24 months among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and (2) to analyze whether a change in patient empowerment is associated with a change in anxiety and depression level. Methods. This is a secondary analysis of the INDICA study, a 24 month-long, multi-arm randomized controlled trial. Patient empowerment (DES-SF), depression (BDI-II), and state-anxiety (STAI-S) were assessed at the baseline (pre-intervention) and after 12 and 24 months. Multilevel mixed linear models with a random intercept were performed to correct for our clustered data. Results. The multilevel regression models showed that the baseline empowerment did not significantly predict anxiety and depression after 12 and 24 months. However, a higher increase in patient empowerment was significantly associated with reductions of anxiety (p < 0.001) and depression levels (p < 0.001). This association was not significantly different between the two follow-ups. Conclusion. This study contributes to the knowledge on how to reduce affective symptoms in patients with uncomplicated T2DM through comprehensive patient-centered interventions, and it highlights patient empowerment as a significant contributor.