Does diabetes-related distress explain the presence of depressive symptoms and/or poor self-care in individuals with Type 1 diabetes?

AIMS: To examine the relationship between depressive symptomatology, diabetes-related distress and aspects of diabetes self-care in a cohort of individuals with Type 1 diabetes.

METHODS

Individuals with Type 1 diabetes taking part in the Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale and the Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) scale. Self-care was measured by physical activity in the past week and over the previous year, frequency of blood glucose/urine testing, smoking status and alcohol intake.

RESULTS

Clinically significant levels of depressive symptomatology (i.e. scores >or= 16) were reported by 14% of the study population on the BDI and by 18% on the CES-D. There were strong correlations between depressive symptoms and diabetes-related distress (PAID scores) and physical activity. Multivariate analyses indicated that depression was independently associated with diabetes-related distress scores and with physical activity, but not with frequency of blood glucose testing.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings have implications for clinical practice and treatment of both psychological morbidity and diabetes. There may be significant effects of depression on aspects of diabetes self-care. Further prospective studies are required to confirm these findings.