Major developments in behavioral diabetes research

Abstract

Over the past decade, there has been a major increase in behavioral diabetes research. This review focuses on 6 areas: self-treatment, psychosocial impact, diabetes-specific assessment, psychological stress, weight loss intervention, and neuropsychological effects. There has been great progress in identifying factors that predict self-treatment behaviors and psychological adjustment. This research has produced a number of diabetes-specific assessment tools. Psychological stress appears to affect both the etiology and the control of diabetes, but underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Weight loss studies demonstrate the potential benefits of behavioral interventions for diabetes management. Both acute and chronic abnormalities in diabetic blood glucose cause neuropsychological impairments and may cause permanent deficits. The challenge for the next decade is to translate these findings into interventions that improve quality of life and physical well-being for individuals with diabetes.