Stressing the Importance of Diabetes Distress: a Comment on Baek et al.

Excerpt

Despite advances in new medications, treatment devices, and patient-centered approaches to care over the last decade, nearly half (48.7 %) of US adults with diabetes did not meet recommended goals for diabetes care [1]. Several psychosocial factors, such as depression [2‐6], diabetes distress and pessimistic attitudes [7‐10], cultural differences [11‐17], lack of family and social support [11, 18‐21], lack of readiness to change behavior [22], introversion and social isolation [23, 24], hypoglycemia fear [25, 26], and ineffectual coping styles [27, 28], interfere with recommended self-care and are associated with poor glycemic control. Understanding factors that lead to success or failure in achieving and maintaining recommended goals for diabetes care is necessary for developing tailored interventions. …