Anxious temperament and disease progression at diagnosis: the case of type 2 diabetes.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association between anxious temperament and disease progression at diagnosis for individuals with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).


METHODS
A sample of 204 individuals, newly diagnosed with T2DM, completed the Behavioral Inhibition and Activation Scales (BIS/BAS) and provided an A1C reading. Regression analyses were used to predict A1C levels from individual differences in BIS and BAS.


RESULTS
Individual differences in BIS were inversely related to A1C at diagnosis in the sample as a whole, and this association remained strong after controlling for demographic variables and body mass index. Most importantly, temperamentally anxious individuals had low A1C levels at diagnosis in all age groups, in contrast to their nonanxious counterparts who showed increasing A1C at diagnosis as a function of decreasing age. BAS scores were unrelated to A1C.


CONCLUSIONS
Although older age is generally associated with lower disease progression at diagnosis, high BIS individuals show uniformly lower disease progression across all age groups. High levels of temperamental anxiety may facilitate early diagnosis of T2DM, particularly among younger individuals who are not subject to routine screening.
Hall
Peter A
PA
Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada. pahall@healthy.uwaterloo.ca
Coons
Michael J
MJ
Vallis
T Michael
TM
D017677:Age Distribution; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004032:Diet / Q000379:methods; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013694:Temperament