Diabetes distress in adult type 1 diabetes mellitus men and women with disease onset in childhood and in adulthood.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether or not diabetes distress varies by age of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) onset and/or gender.


METHODS
A total of 700 adult T1DM patients were randomly selected from the Lithuanian Diabetes Registry; 214 of them (30.6%) agreed to participate and were recruited for the study. Diabetes distress (emotional burden, physician-related distress, regimen-related distress, interpersonal distress) was compared in 105 (42 men and 63 women) patients with T1DM diagnosed during 0-18years of life, and in 109 (61 men and 48 women) with T1DM diagnosed in adulthood, using Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS).


RESULTS
Adult childhood-onset T1DM women have higher regimen-related distress (36.3±21.3 vs 26.6±16.2, p=0.016) than adulthood-onset women. Adult childhood-onset T1DM women experience higher diabetes distress (higher emotional burden (27.0±22.0 vs 15.6±16.4, p=0.006), physician-related distress (34.4±33.9 vs 20.7±29.4, p=0.024), total diabetes distress (41.2±13.6 vs 34.8±10.9, p=0.011)) than childhood-onset men. Adulthood-onset T1DM women experience higher physician-related distress (39.2±37.6 vs 23.4±32.5, p=0.013), but lower regimen-related distress (26.6±16.2 vs 35.8±21.6, p=0.014) than adulthood-onset men. In conclusion our findings reinforce the interdependence of psychological and biomedical factors in influencing health outcomes and support the need to provide psychological assessment and support to patients with T1DM.
Institute of Endocrinology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania. Electronic address: linlasla@yahoo.com.
Lina
L
Lašaitė
Institute of Endocrinology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Rytas
R
Ostrauskas
Institute of Endocrinology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Rimantas
R
Žalinkevičius
Institute of Endocrinology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Nijolė
N
Jurgevičienė
Institute of Endocrinology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Lina
L
Radzevičienė
D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000517:prevention & control; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008097:Lithuania / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012042:Registries; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human
Adulthood-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus; Childhood-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Distress Scale; Diabetes distress; Gender-specific differences