Meaning of illness and health outcomes in type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether a relationship exists between the meaning attributed to type 1 diabetes and mental and physical health outcomes.

METHODS

The study sample consisted of 49 adults with type 1 diabetes. Each participant voluntarily agreed to complete the Meaning of Illness Questionnaire (MIQ), the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36), and the Diabetes Health Survey. Multivariant analysis of covariance was used to determine the relationships among the MIQ and SF-36, a history of depression, hemoglobin A1c, and other demographic variables.

RESULTS

The meaning attributed to illness predicted health outcomes. Specifically, the impact of illness (MIQ subscale 1; P = 0.030) predicted SF-36 physical functioning, bodily pain, and general mental health; the degree of stress (MIQ subscale 3; P = 0.008) predicted SF-36 general physical health, vitality, and general mental health. Conversely, a history of depression (P = 0.014) and high hemoglobin A1c (P = 0.039) predicted a more negative meaning attributed to illness.

CONCLUSION

The meaning attributed to illness varies with physical and mental health. In addition, physical and mental health outcomes and hemoglobin A1c, a measure of mean blood glucose, affect the meaning attributed to diabetes. The findings in this study support a bidirectional relationship between the meaning attributed to illness and health outcomes in patients with type 1 diabetes.