Diabetes Distress and its Associated factors among Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Center in Eastern India

Diabetes distress (DD), a negative emotional state, significantly impacts glycemic control and self-management of diabetes. The prevalence of DD is estimated to be high and needs a better understanding of the modifiable factors. However, scanty data are available.

We have recruited type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients aged 18-65 years attending Endocrinology OPD of a tertiary health care center (THC) from June 2022 to September 2023. Participants with comorbid psychiatric illnesses or use of psychiatric medications were excluded. DD was determined by a language-validated diabetes-specific distress-17 (DDS-17) scale, and depressive symptoms were screened by patient health care questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Screening was done for various microvascular complications, and associated clinical and laboratory data were recorded. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to identify the association of various factors with overall diabetes distress and its subdomains.

A total of 443 participants were recruited. The overall prevalence of DD was 39.3%. In the multivariate logistic regression, duration >5 years, diabetic nephropathy, and depressive symptoms (>10 score as per PHQ-9) were found to be associated factors of DD.

The prevalence of DD is high in tertiary care settings. Younger age, higher HbA1C, disease duration of more than 5 years, and depressive symptoms are significant associated factors. Regular screening and measures to combat diabetes distress are required, particularly in the young-onset diabetes group.