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Review
. 2025 Jan 18;25(1):17.
doi: 10.1007/s11892-025-01576-4.

Addressing Diabetes Distress in Primary Care: Where Are We Now, and Where Do We Need to Go?

Marisa Kostiuk  1 , E Seth Kramer  2 , Andrea Nederveld  2 , Danielle M Hessler  3 , Lawrence Fisher  3 , Jessica A Parascando  2 , Tamara K Oser  2
Affiliations
Review

Addressing Diabetes Distress in Primary Care: Where Are We Now, and Where Do We Need to Go?

Marisa Kostiuk et al. Curr Diab Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: Addressing diabetes distress (DD), the emotional demands of living with diabetes, is a crucial component of diabetes care. Most individuals with type 2 diabetes and approximately half of adults with type 1 diabetes receive their care in the primary care setting. This review will provide guidance on addressing DD and implementing targeted techniques that can be tailored to primary care patients.

Recent findings: Structured educational, behavioral, and emotion-focused techniques have promise for treating DD. These interventions are unlikely to require advanced training and can be feasibly integrated into primary care settings without creating additional burdens on time or resources. Interventional studies examining treatment for DD are limited, leaving a gap for clear direction and consensus on how to target and treat DD in primary care patients. This review consolidates recommendations and approaches from recent findings on how to treat DD within the context of primary care.

Keywords: Diabetes distress; Evidence-based interventions; Primary care; Type 1 diabetes; Type 2 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Informed Consent: Not applicable for this review article. Competing Interests: Seth Kramer, DO, MPH is on an advisory board for Dexcom Inc. Lawrence Fisher, PhD, ABPP is on an advisory board for Eli Lily. No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript. Human and Animal Rights: All reported studies/experiments with human or animal subjects performed by the authors have been previously published and complied with all applicable ethical standards (including the Helsinki declaration and its amendments, institutional/national research committee standards, and international/national/institutional guidelines).

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