Social support and glycemic control in non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients: gender differences

The influence of perceived social support on glycemic control was studied in 76 newly diagnosed NIDDM patients. As a group perceived social support was high overall and no difference was seen between men and women. Males tended to have better fasting blood glucose values (fB-values) than females at the end of the first year of duration (p < 0.07). When dichotomized into high and low supported groups by gender, males with high social support had better fB-values than highly supported females (p < 0.01). Males with high satisfaction regarding social support had better fB-values than the female group and the low supported male group (p < 0.05). Males reporting high emotional, informative or practical support had better fB-values than highly supported females (p < 0.05). The effect of gender and social support is discussed.