Emotion regulation contributes to the development of diabetes distress among adults with type 1 diabetes.
Lawrence Fisher, Danielle Hessler, William Polonsky and 5 others
PMID 28739179WHAT IT FOUND
In adults with type 1 diabetes, higher emotion regulation was linked to lower diabetes distress, and lower distress was linked to fewer missed insulin boluses and lower HbA1c.
Assess how patients manage emotions, not only glucose.
Key findings
01Higher emotion regulation was associated with lower diabetes distress.
02Lower diabetes distress was associated with fewer missed insulin boluses, and fewer missed boluses were linked with lower HbA1c.
03When depression symptoms and diabetes distress were modeled together, only diabetes distress was associated with missed insulin boluses.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The data were cross-sectional, so they show associations at one time point and cannot show that emotion regulation causes diabetes distress or that distress causes missed insulin doses. The sample was selected for at least moderate diabetes distress and HbA1c 7.5% or higher, so it may not apply to adults with lower distress or lower HbA1c. Only three emotion regulation mechanisms were measured, so other emotional processes may matter. Participants reported a mean diabetes distress score of 2.9, while eligible patients who declined reported 2.7, so the sample may overrepresent more distressed patients. The model explained 18% of variance in HbA1c and 9% of variance in missed insulin boluses, so most variation in these outcomes was not explained.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that emotion regulation causes diabetes distress or that treating it will lower HbA1c. The data were cross-sectional and only showed associations.