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. 2010 May;33(5):1034-6.
doi: 10.2337/dc09-2175. Epub 2010 Feb 11.

The relationship between diabetes distress and clinical depression with glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes

Lawrence Fisher  1 , Russell E Glasgow, Lisa A Strycker
Affiliations

The relationship between diabetes distress and clinical depression with glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes

Lawrence Fisher et al. Diabetes Care. 2010 May.

Abstract

Objective: To clarify previous findings that diabetes distress is related to glycemic control and self-management whereas measures of depression are not, using both binary and continuous measures of depression.

Research design and methods: Four hundred and sixty-three type 2 patients completed measures of diabetes distress (Diabetes Distress Scale [DDS]) and clinical depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 8 [PHQ8]). PHQ8 was employed as either a binary (>or=10) or continuous variable. Dependent variables were A1C, diet, physical activity (PA), and medication adherence (MA).

Results: The inclusion of a binary or continuous PHQ8 score yielded no differences in any equation. DDS was significantly associated with A1C and PA, whereas PHQ8 was not; both DDS and PHQ8 were significantly and independently associated with diet and MA.

Conclusions: The lack of association between depression and glycemic control is not due to the use of a binary measure of depression. Findings further clarify the significant association between distress and A1C.

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References

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    1. Fisher L, Skaff MM, Mullan JT, Arean P, Mohr D, Masharani U, Glasgow R, Laurencin G: Clinical depression versus distress among patients with type 2 diabetes: not just a question of semantics. Diabetes Care 2007; 30: 542– 548 - PubMed
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