[The influence exercised by the spouse or partner on diabetics--assessing the participation of spouses or lifelong associates in intensive inpatient training--an epidemiological study].
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to analyse whether participation of spouses of patients with type-2 diabetes in a patient empowerment programme would result in improved metabolic control of diabetes. Values of glycated haemoglobin levels were used for the between-group comparisons.


METHODS
This investigation was conducted as a cohort study in which 59 patients with type-2 diabetes participated. Follow-up data were checked after 12 months. We investigated the relative glycated haemoglobin levels, blood pressure, hypoglycaemia, hospitalisation, and weight at baseline and follow-up. The statistical analyses were performed using the software packages SPSS 10 and Epi Info 6.


RESULTS
The studied group had an average duration of diabetes of 10.7 years (range 1.3-40.8 years) and an age of 64 years (range 40-79 years). The group accompanied by their spouses did show a significant reduction of the average glycated haemoglobin level from 1.51 to 1.28 (p = 0.0001). By contrast, the reduction of 0.03 in the group without spouses was not significant (p = 0.558). Looking at the relative risk, it turned out that patients without spouses have a 2.3 times higher risk of developing a worse metabolic control after one year than patients with spouses. The logistical regression supported this trend.


CONCLUSIONS
This study indicates that the participation of spouses of patients with type-2 diabetes in a patient empowerment programme contributes to an improvement in blood glucose control.
Layh
K
K
Betriebskrankenkasse des Bundesverkehrsministeriums, Hamburg. Katrin.Layh@bkkbvm.de
Reintjes
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D018454:Spouses; D013997:Time Factors
D001786:Blood Glucose; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin