Distress and psychopathology among Sudanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and its relation to glycaemic control.

OBJECTIVES

The link between diabetes control and depression is contradictory and inconsistent. Emotional distress is a single and continuous characteristic that has two primary components: content and severity. This finding could provide a link between major depression, diabetes distress, and depression symptoms. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between depression and diabetes distress and glycaemic control.

METHODS

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at a diabetes centre in Omdurman, Sudan, from June to August 2016. Eighty-nine patients with type 2 diabetes and 29 control subjects for psychopathology were interviewed using an English version of the structured 12-item diabetes distress general health questionnaire. Glycaemic control was assessed by measuring glycated haemoglobin in a blood sample drawn from each participant.

RESULTS

Eighty-nine diabetic patients and 29 age- and sex-matched controls compose the study cohort. As many as 87.6% of diabetic patients scored >3 for diabetes distress, and psychopathology was reported in 78.8% of diabetic patients vs. 21.2% in control subjects. Emotional burden was most correlated among the components of diabetes distress followed by the physician-related domain. HbA1c level was related to the emotional burden and regimen-related domains of diabetes distress (P-value <0.05). No relationship was evident among other distress domains, psychopathology, or the duration of diabetes.

CONCLUSION

Diabetes distress and depression are prevalent among Sudanese diabetic patients. Glycated haemoglobin level was related to the emotional burden of diabetes distress and the regimen-related domain but not to depression or diabetes duration.