Perceived problem areas in diabetes do not correlate with levels of anxiety and depression
Published Date: 07th October 2020
Publication Authors: Westall S, Narayanan RP, Langan E, Gallagher CG, Bujawansa S, McNulty S, Furlong NJ, Cardwell J, Hardy KJ
Background and Aim
Diabetes‐related distress, anxiety and depression are all highly prevalent in people with diabetes. The Problem Areas In Diabetes (PAID) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS) questionnaires can be used to measure these domains. We evaluated the impact of structured education on each of these.
Methods
People with diabetes attending structured education completed PAID and HADS questionnaires before starting and after completing structured education between December 2017 and August 2019. Data from the questionnaires were analysed in Excel with the ‘Analysis ToolPak’.
Results
People with type 1 diabetes (51 at baseline, 39 at endpoint) and type 2 diabetes (404 at baseline, 401 at endpoint) completed the PAID questionnaire. Mean scores improved from 30.3 to 20.0 (p < 0.05) and 22.0 to 17.9 (p < 0.05) respectively. The same people with type 1 diabetes (51 at baseline and endpoint) and type 2 diabetes (374 at baseline, 370 at endpoint) completed HADS. By contrast, no statistically significant change was seen in the anxiety (HADS‐A) or depression (HADS‐D) mean scores.
Conclusions
Clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements are seen in diabetes‐related distress for both patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Interestingly, the same change is not seen for the same group of patients in anxiety or depression sub‐domains of the HADS score. This could indicate that anxiety and depression in diabetes is not directly related to perceived problem areas in diabetes as per the PAID score. Further research would need to evaluate the psychological effect of structured education on people with diabetes.
Westall, SJ; Narayanan, RP; Langan, E; Gallagher, C; Bujawansa, S; McNulty, S; Furlong, N; Cardwell, J; Hardy, K. (2020). Perceived problem areas in diabetes do not correlate with levels of anxiety and depression.... Diabetic Medicine. 37 (S1), 155.