Patients experiencing mild to extreme mental health stress are less likely to engage in diabetes self-care behaviors.
Depression and anxiety are common mental health conditions among diabetes patients. This research examines self-care management practices among diabetes patients with and without mental stress. Additionally, the research covers psychosocial concerns and possible self-management interventions for patients with diabetes. Caring for patients with diabetes involves complementary role-play by education specialists to impact the behavioral health of those with diabetes: for example, caring for and educating patients with diabetes to address emotional impacts on health outcomes and well-being and activate self-control and prevention. behavior of people with diabetes. This field is critical in any plan of care for patients with diabetes because unrecognized and untreated problems result in indeterminate care and obstruction of care management.
This study assesses the impact of psychological distress among people with diabetes by screening for psychological distress using the Kesler Screening Scale to measure distress severity. The model is essential for understanding the importance of mental health in patients with diabetes in regards to self-management intervention and the opportunities for improvement and assessment of stakeholder perspectives. According to research, patients with diabetes are very likely to suffer from mental health complications, such as depression and anxiety. Therefore, it is recommended to use self-management programs to help participants address physiological health problems associated with mental health.
The sample used included people between 25 and 85 years old. According to the results, diabetes patients with mild mental health problems are more likely to recover from the disease by modifying their diet and restricting the intake of foods high in fat or cholesterol, as opposed to diabetes patients without mental stress. On the other hand, diabetes patients with high mental stress can easily control high cholesterol or fat intake. In addition, patients experiencing mild to extreme mental health stress are unlikely to engage in diabetes self-care behaviors. The methodologies used include cross-sectional data pooled from 2011 to 2016 obtained from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The dependent variables consisted of performing moderate or intense physical exercise 5 times a week, performing eye and foot dilation controls, treating diabetes by modifying the diet or injecting insulin into the bloodstream, including minimizing high fat or cholesterol intake. The independent variables consisted of patients with diabetes context with or without mental stress. Therefore, this investigation was controlled for predisposing and necessary factors. Efforts toward promoting good health and alleviating distress should be included in each person’s diabetes management: motivational interventions; improvement of self-efficacy; coping skills to manage stress; and family interventions contribute significantly. In this context, people with diabetes with low or moderate mental health stress have a p value of less than 0.001 or 0.05 compared to those without mental health stress. In addition, people with diabetes who are confident in caring for their disease are more likely to modify their diabetic foods by a p-value of less than 0.001 compared to those who are not most confident.
This study is interesting and crucial because it incorporates cross-sectional self-reported data. This implies that mental health stress can lead to a lack of engagement in self-management practices. However, the limitations of this study show that mental health stress implies an index of psychological distress that is not specific and summarizes monthly activities without truly representing the general distress in an individual’s life. However, no variables could be observed to distinguish type or severity of diabetes; instead, the study used self-reported information presented in the cross section. Therefore, future studies should adopt psychosocial services for diabetes patients with mental health stress.
Practice beads:
- The number of comorbidities among patients with diabetes limits their skills in managing self-care. For example, having mental health comorbidity poses barriers to the lifestyle change necessary for diabetes self-care management.
- Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are significant among patients with diabetes, with a prevalence that is double the rate of non-diabetic patients.
- Depressive and anxiety symptoms among patients with diabetes can lead to medication neglect, healthy living, and poor glycemic control.
Comer-HaGans D, Austin S, Ramamonjiarivelo Z, Sherman LD. Preventive diabetes self-management management practices among people with diabetes and mental health stress.J Affect Disorder. 2022; 298 (part B): 24-34. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.11.020
Njideka Aginam, PharmD Candidate, South College School of Pharmacy
