Psychological Wellbeing of Diabetic Individuals, Prediabetics, and Non-diabetics: A Population-Based Study in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

BackgroundThe increased burden of diabetes affects the quality of life, including psychosocial problems. The study aims to compare the psychological well-being of individuals who are prediabetic, diabetic, or non-diabetic.MethodsA cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted from January to June 2016 (n = 1,019) in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia. After consent and questionnaires were filled out, trained staff took blood samples followed by anthropometry. Chi-squared tests, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between diabetes classes defined by HbA1c cut-off levels set by the American Diabetes Association (three categories), individual items, and total score in general health questionnaire (GHQ). An ROC curve was plotted for the total GHQ-12 score against HbA1c.FindingsThe mean GHQ score for psychological distress was significantly higher (F = 6.569, P = 0.038) in the diabetics (mean = 14.7) and the prediabetics (12.4) than in the non-diabetics (10.71). Four out of six positive GHQ items and three out of six negative GHQ items significantly differed among the three classes of diabetes. The adjusted multivariate analysis revealed that people with diabetes were most likely to report psychological distress compared to non-diabetics (unstandardized beta = 2.414; P = 0.037). The AUC examining the relationship between HBA1c and GHQ scores showed a moderate but statistically insignificant sensitivity/specificity of 0.643 (P = 0.23).ConclusionThis study demonstrates that psychological wellbeing is substantially poorer among diabetic or prediabetic individuals than non-diabetic individuals. Future longitudinal studies are required to examine a plausible causal relationship between diabetes/prediabetes and psychological distress.

Predictive Cross-sectional Study of religiosity, mental immunity, and psychological well-being of diabetes patients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…ndings of the current study found that there were average levels of religiosity, psychological immunity, and PWB among patients with diabetes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This result is not consistent with the results of the study conducted by Aldossari et al (2022) which indicated a poorer level of PWB among diabetics in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the study conducted by Debono & Cachia (2007) concluded that diabetes affected the level of PWB in patients.…”

“…On the contrary, the results found no differences in religiosity, psychological immunity, and PWB due to the age group of patients with diabetes, and the reason may be that diabetes affects the individuals regardless of their age. This is consistent with the theoretical literature indications about the negative impact of diabetes on physical and psychological health (Alhunayni et al, 2020, Aldossari et al, 2022.…”

“…Diabetes affects both the body and the soul. There is growing theoretical literature on the effect of diabetes on the mental health of individuals (Alhunayni et al, 2020;Deschênes et al, 2017;Lin et al, 2010;Aldossari et al, 2022).…”

Is Psychological Distress Associated with Self-Perceived Health, Perceived Social Support and Physical Activity Level in Spanish Adults with Diabetes?

“…Regarding psychological functioning, our findings are consistent with previous studies [1,9,45,46]. We found significant differences in the median scores of both men and women on the GHQ-12 in both the total score and its three dimensions.…”

“…Diabetes is a major health burden with an increasing global prevalence [1]. It is recognised as a leading chronic disease causing disability and a main cause of mortality [2].…”