Quality of life and diabetes integration among subjects with type 2 diabetes

Diabetes integration indicates that a person with diabetes makes an appropriate emotional adjustment to the requirements of diabetic way of life. Diabetes integration and a sense of well-being are expected to be correlated. The aim of diabetes treatment should be to enable a patient to adjust himself to his being a diabetic person. This should ensure a sense of well-being. Aims of this study was to assess the role of diabetes integration and psychological factors in patients with type 2 diabetes.

A sample of 227 type 2 diabetes patients participated in the study. They were all in the upper middle class social stratum. Diabetes integration scale yields one composite score of adjustment, has 19 items applicable to both type 1 and type 2 diabetic subjects. The psychological well-being scale has 22 items, measures depression (6 items), anxiety (6 items), energy (4 items), positive well-being (6 items) and a general sense of well-being score by the whole test of 22 items.

The psychological well-being subscales and the whole scale scores significantly correlated with diabetes integration scale (all P values were < 0.0001). However, we found that diabetes integration and the psychological well-being subscales were not significantly correlated with metabolic and other medical indices. There were gender differences in depression (p < 0.04), anxiety (p < 0.0001), energy (p = 0.004), positive well-being. (p = 0.02) and general sense of well-being (p < 0.0001), men fared in a better than women subjects. No such gender differences were found in diabetes integration score.

Diabetic patients who integrate themselves and emotionally adjust to diabetes experience a psychological sense of well-being.