Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Oct;43(5):723-731.
doi: 10.1007/s10865-019-00109-1. Epub 2019 Oct 15.

The influence of daily stress on glycemic control and mortality in adults with diabetes

Rebekah J Walker  1   2 , Emma Garacci  3 , Jennifer A Campbell  4   3 , Leonard E Egede  4   3
Affiliations

The influence of daily stress on glycemic control and mortality in adults with diabetes

Rebekah J Walker et al. J Behav Med. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

There is mixed evidence regarding the relationship between different types of stress and outcomes in adults with diabetes. The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between daily stress and glycemic control (HbA1c), and to examine whether multiple daily stressors is associated with early mortality among individuals with diabetes. This was a cross-sectional analysis of national Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study data. A total of 141 adults with diabetes completed the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) project during the initial phase of the study, which was summarized through a series of measures about daily stress frequency, type and impact. General linear models investigated the relationship between daily stress and HbA1c. Kaplan-Meier curves based on national death index information linked to MIDUS were investigated for individuals reporting no/one stressor per week versus multiple stressors per week. On average, this population of adults with diabetes reported 3.1 days with a stressor and 2.45 stressor types per week. No significant relationships existed between glycemic control and frequency of daily stress. Higher stress from work was associated with higher HbA1c (β = 0.65, 95% CI 0.08, 1.22) and higher perceived risk of stress influencing physical health was associated with higher HbA1c (β = 0.60, 95% CI 0.01, 1.20). In conclusion, while many ways of measuring daily stress were shown not to have a significant influence on glycemic control, daily stress related to work and the perceived risk of stress influencing one's physical health may influence outcomes for adults with diabetes. Interventions incorporating stress management, and in particular coping with the risk that stress has on health may help adults with diabetes better manage glycemic control over time.

Keywords: Diabetes; Glycemic control; Mortality; Stress; Work stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Kaplan-Meier survival estimates for individuals with multiple stressors vs. one/no stressors
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Mendola ND, Chen T-C, Gu Q, Eberhardt MS, Saydah S. Prevalence of total, diagnosed, and undiagnosed diabetes among adults: United States, 2013–2016 NCHS Data Brief, no 319. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2018. - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2017. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services; 2017.
    1. American Diabetes Association (ADA). Economic costs of diabetes in the US in 2017. Diabetes Care 2018; 41: 917–928. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Epel ES, Crosswell AD, Mayer SE, Prather AA, Slavich GM, Puterman E, Mendes WB. More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science. Front Neuroendocrinol. 2018;49:146–69. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pearlin LI. The life course and the stress process: some conceptual comparisons. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2010;65B(2):207–15. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types