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. 2024 Jan 1;47(1):126-131.
doi: 10.2337/dc23-1001.

Diabetes Distress and Associations With Demographic and Clinical Variables: A Nationwide Population-Based Registry Study of 10,186 Adults With Type 1 Diabetes in Norway

Ingvild Hernar  1   2 , John G Cooper  3 , Roy M Nilsen  2 , Timothy C Skinner  4   5 , Ragnhild B Strandberg  2 , Marjolein M Iversen  2   6 , Marit Graue  2 , Tony Ernes  3 , Karianne F Løvaas  3 , Tone V Madsen  3 , Silje S Lie  7 , David A Richards  2 , Grethe Å Ueland  1   3 , Anne Haugstvedt  2
Affiliations

Diabetes Distress and Associations With Demographic and Clinical Variables: A Nationwide Population-Based Registry Study of 10,186 Adults With Type 1 Diabetes in Norway

Ingvild Hernar et al. Diabetes Care. .

Abstract

Objective: To estimate diabetes distress prevalence and associations with demographic and clinical variables among adults with type 1 diabetes in Norway.

Research design and methods: In this nationwide population-based registry study, the 20-item Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID-20) questionnaire was sent to 16,255 adults with type 1 diabetes. Linear regression models examined associations of demographic and clinical variables with distress.

Results: In total, 10,186 individuals (62.7%) completed the PAID-20, with a mean score of 25.4 (SD 18.4) and 21.7% reporting high distress. Respondents endorsed worrying about the future and complications as the most problematic item (23.0%). Female sex, younger age, non-European origin, primary education only, unemployment, smoking, continuous glucose monitoring use, more symptomatic hypoglycemia, reduced foot sensitivity, treated retinopathy, and higher HbA1c were associated with higher distress.

Conclusions: Diabetes distress is common among adults with type 1 diabetes and associated with clinically relevant factors, underlining that regular care should include efforts to identify and address distress.

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Conflict of interest statement

Duality of Interest. No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart for the cohort of study participants with type 1 diabetes from the NDR-A.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Score distribution of the 20 items in the PAID-20 scale among 10,186 adults with type 1 diabetes by problem areas endorsed as most problematic (i.e., the response options “somewhat serious problem” and “serious problem”).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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