RESUMEN
CONTEXT: Diabetes distress is an affective condition that addresses an individual's frustrations, worries, and concerns about living with diabetes. It is associated with fewer self-care behaviors, suboptimal glycemic control, and lower quality of life (QOL). For these reasons, diabetes care guidelines recommend routine assessment of diabetes distress. OBJECTIVE: To assess diabetes distress in a university population. METHODS: This study was conducted using a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Researchers assessed diabetes distress and other psychosocial factors via an electronic anonymous survey among students, faculty, and staff at a large university in the Midwest. RESULTS: A total of 173 participants completed the survey (mean [SD] age, 35.1 [16.7] years), with 108 [62.4%] female and 142 [82.1%] white participants). Eighty-five participants had type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), and 88 had type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Of the 85 T1DM participants, 23 (27.4%) reported high diabetes distress, and 27 (30.7%) T2DM participants reported high diabetes distress. Sixteen T1DM (18.8%) and 15 T2DM (17.0%) participants screened positive for severe depression. Severe depression was associated with high distress for both T1DM and T2DM participants (T1DM: χ2=28.845, P<.001; T2DM: χ2=20.679, P<.001). Participants with T1DM reported more frequent self-care behaviors (mean [SD], 62.3 [17.1] vs 52.2 [19.2]; P<.001), but lower diabetes QOL (63.3 [14.1] vs 68.5 [15.5]; P=.021) compared with T2DM participants. No differences were observed in depressive symptoms, diabetes self-efficacy, and coping styles. Linear regression models showed that high diabetes distress scores (standardized ß=.323, P=.025; standardized ß=.604, P<.001) were independently associated with higher hemoglobin A1C levels and lower diabetes QOL after controlling for depressive symptoms, age, and gender in T1DM participants. Similarly, high diabetes distress scores (standardized ß=.434, P<.001) were associated with lower diabetes QOL in T2DM participants after controlling for the same variables. CONCLUSION: High diabetes distress levels were associated with lower diabetes QOL for both T1DM and T2DM participants. These findings suggest that attending or working at a university may be associated with high diabetes distress scores and lower diabetes QOL. Additional research with a larger, more diverse sample from multiple universities is needed to confirm these findings.
Asunto(s)
Depresión/psicología , Diabetes Mellitus/psicología , Adolescente , Adulto , Estudios Transversales , Docentes , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Prevalencia , Calidad de Vida , Autoinforme , Estudiantes , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , UniversidadesRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Hypoglycemia is a severe clinical problem with physical and psychosocial implications for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Medical students would benefit from formal education on how to treat hypoglycemia as well as how to administer glucagon in case of a severe hypoglycemic emergency. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a brief training to improve medical students' knowledge and attitudes about diabetes, hypoglycemia, and glucagon administration. METHODS: We conducted a feasibility study to assess the effectiveness of an interactive training session on diabetes education with an emphasis on hypoglycemia. We measured medical students' knowledge and attitudes toward diabetes, hypoglycemia, and glucagon before and after the training. We performed Chi-Square tests, paired t-tests, determined effect sizes using Cohen's d, and analyzed short answer responses via content and thematic analyses. RESULTS: Two hundred and seventeen participants (age = 25.1 ± 2.3 years, 45.2% female, 78.3% white, 36.4% planned to pursue primary care, response rate of 94.3%) completed surveys. Following the training, participants' total knowledge scores improved by five percentage points to 82.6 ± 11.0% (t-value = 7.119, p < 0.001). We also observed positive improvements in the General Test scores to 82.3 ± 12.6% (t-value = 5.844, p < 0.001) and Insulin Use Test scores to 82.4 ± 17.4% (t-value = 4.103, p < 0.001). For the hypoglycemia test, participants averaged 55.7 ± 24.8% pre-training and 83.0 ± 22.4% post-training (t-value = 14.258, p < 0.001). Lastly, participants scored 87.6 ± 18.5% on the glucagon test after the training session. In addition, we observed positive improvements in all five diabetes attitudes subscales after the training, with the largest magnitude of change in the "Psychosocial impact of diabetes" subscale (t-value = 9.249, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.60). Qualitatively, more participants recognized the severity of hypoglycemia after the training. They also learned how to approach diabetes from the patient's perspective and valued the clinically relevant and practical information provided during the training session, such as the "15-15 Rule." CONCLUSIONS: Medical students need to learn about patients' everyday experiences of diabetes in order to have an understanding of and confidence to assess and treat hypoglycemia. These findings underscore the importance of training medical students on how to actively assess and manage the risk of hypoglycemia in people with diabetes.