Prevalence and Correlates of Positive Mental Health Among Canadian Adults With Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes: Results From the Canadian Community Health Survey---Mental Health.

OBJECTIVES

Current definitions of mental health are no longer limited to presence or absence of mental illness. Although dimensions of mental illness have been well studied among people with diabetes, little is known about positive mental health. Optimal positive mental health is referred to as "flourishing" and is characterized by happiness, psychological well-being and social well-being. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of flourishing mental health among Canadian adults diagnosed with diabetes.

METHODS

Data came from participants >19 years of age in the Canadian Community Health Survey---Mental Health 2012, a national, cross-sectional survey. Positive mental health was measured with the Mental Health Continuum---Short Form, which categorizes individuals into flourishing, moderate and languishing mental health.

RESULTS

Although the majority of participants with diabetes reported flourishing mental health (73.22%), flourishing mental health was more common among people without diabetes (76.56%). Among people with diabetes (n=2,024), those who were flourishing reported greater physical activity, better self-rated health, fewer comorbidities, less functional disability and were less likely to smoke compared with those who were not flourishing. Those who were flourishing were less likely to have a lifetime history of major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder and were distinguished by some demographic characteristics.

CONCLUSION

Among people with diabetes, flourishing mental health was associated with distinct behavioural, health and sociodemographic correlates.