The association of diabetes-related self-care activities with perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

PurposeMany people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) do not sustain sufficient diabetes-related self-care activities (DRSCA) in their daily lives. To provide additional information about the positive influence of DRSCA, this study was conducted to examine whether DRSCA were associated with reduced perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue among people with T2DM and to explore the level of DRSCA, perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue and their association with background information.Patients and methodsThis study was a cross-sectional survey including 251 participants aged 18 years and older recruited from two hospitals in the eastern part of China. The study utilized self-report questionnaires that consisted of background information, DRSCA, perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to explore the association of DRSCA with perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue while adjusting for background information.ResultsThe results indicated that the level of self-care activities, stress, and fatigue was around middle level. The prevalence of anxiety was 19%. A high level of DRSCA was likely to reduce perceived stress but was not linked to anxiety and fatigue. Women were more susceptible to stress and anxiety, and people who had diabetes for >5 years were more likely to have anxiety. The background information included diabetes duration, standardized diabetes education, and high social support, all of which are factors that may influence DRSCA.ConclusionThe findings suggest that improving the level of DRSCA might effectively reduce perceived stress. The potential benefits of DRSCA can provide both motivational and evaluative data for self-care programs. In addition, the findings show that DRSCA were not linked to anxiety and fatigue, which implies that their positive influence on anxiety and fatigue may be offset by the load of frequent DRSCA. It is suggested that helping patients to make tailored plans to integrate DRSCA into their daily lives is needed. Meanwhile, in the background information, it is suggested that standardized diabetes education and high social support can benefit DRSCA; in improving psychological health, more attention should be paid to women and patients with diabetes duration <5 years.

“Perceived stress” and its associated factors among diabetic patients receiving care from a rural tertiary health care center in South India

“…[ 19 ] Studies done outside India in various countries such as China, Malaysia, Croatia, and Japan have shown varying levels of stress among diabetics ranging from 7% to 15.2% (using different scales of assessment). [ 23 24 25 ] A recent study from a tertiary care center in Chennai reported a prevalence of 35% (using the PSS-10 scale), which was almost similar to our study. [ 26 ] The similarity may be attributed to almost similar settings, use of the same questionnaire with almost the same cutoff and also being closely contemporary in the timeline of the study (done in 2016).…”

“…Studies from other countries showed that females were at a higher risk of having stress compared to males. [ 24 25 27 ] The difference in the findings could be due to the different set of roles played by the female gender in India and also due the variability in the study age group (current study having a mean age of about 55 years). Furthermore, the sample size in the current study may not be able to detect the existing difference.…”

Investigating the Effect of an Online Self-Care Training Program on Perceived Stress in COVID-19 Patients

“…For example, Khadivzadeh et al had described that self-care training could reduce perceived stress in women with gestational diabetes treated with insulin (27). As well, the ndings of the present study were in line with the results reported by Zhao (29), Hemmati (30), and Karbalaei Harfteh (31). In contrast, Masjoudi et al had established a weak negative correlation between self-care and perceived stress in pregnant women (32).…”

Association between diabetes-related self-care activities and positive health: a cross-sectional study

“…The data were collected using convenience sampling among patients with T2DM seeking medical care at two university-affiliated hospitals in Nantong city, Jiangsu Province, located in eastern China between summer 2015 and summer 2016. The following inclusion criteria used in the recruitment of the study sample were reported44: age 18+ years; duration of T2DM for at least 3 months; no serious complications or cognition disorders and willing to participate and provide written informed consent. The exclusion criteria were as follows: refusal to participate and serious complications.…”