RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Data on psychological distress (DIS), behavioral impact (BI) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are important yet lacking among Asian patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We aim to identify factors associated with DIS, BI and HRQoL among T2DM to better understand patient needs. METHODS: DIS was measured with Diabetes Health Profile (DHP-18) Psychological Distress (DHP-PD) subscale, Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) and Kessler-10 (K10), BI with DHP-18 Barriers to Activity and Disinhibited Eating subscales and HRQoL with Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations between these outcomes and patient demographic, socioeconomic status, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) and comorbidities. RESULTS: 213 T2DM patients (mean (SD) age: 45.0 (12.1) years, mean (SD) HbA1C: 8.3% (1.9%) and 70.0% reported at least one comorbidity) were evaluated. Poorer glycemic control was significantly associated with higher DHP-PD, PAID and worse HRQoL. Taking oral hypoglycemic agents plus insulin was independently associated with Barrier to Activity and Disinhibited Eating. CONCLUSION: Poorer glycemic control was only associated with diabetes-related distress (measured by DHP-PD and PAID) but not major depressive disorder (measured by K10). It may be more appropriate to screen for diabetes-related distress rather than major depressive disorder for patients with T2DM.