Epidemiology and correlates of weight worry in the multinational Diabetes Attitudes, Wishes and Needs study

This study examined the epidemiology of worry about weight among adults with diabetes and whether this weight worry was associated with worse quality of life and diabetes self-management.

Participants were 5088 adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes from the multi-national DAWN study. Random samples of approximately 500 were obtained from each of 11 countries/regions in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. All measures were self-reported data obtained during structured interviews. High weight worry was represented by the highest level of agreement with the statement 'I feel very anxious about my weight.'

One-quarter (25.1%) of respondents reported high weight worry. Using multivariate logistic regression to assess independent relationships, high weight worry was significantly (p < 0.05) more common among respondents who were women, less educated, had type 2 diabetes and more comorbidities, were diagnosed more recently and reported weight gain with diabetes. Using multivariate logistic regression to control for confounding factors, high weight worry was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with most of the adverse outcomes examined, including lower self-rated health, poorer reported regimen adherence and diabetes control, more diabetes-related distress, poorer psychological well-being, and more psychological treatment.

The cross-sectional, correlational analysis could not assess causal relationships among patient reported outcomes, and the study did not include objective outcome measures.

High weight worry was common among adults with diabetes and associated with several adverse outcomes, including multiple indicators of diabetes-related distress, poor physical and psychological well-being, and regimen non-adherence. These findings suggest that healthcare providers should assess and address weight worry among their patients with diabetes.