Diabetic Distress in Adults with Type II Diabetic Mellitus: A Community Based Study

Abstract

Abstract Background: Diabetes is a challenging disease that is considered to be hard to live with as it encompasses a lot of restrictive instructions. Diabetic distress (DD) refers to an emotional state where people experience feelings such as stress, guilt, or denial that arise from the living with diabetes and the burden of self-management. This study was done to assess the DD in rural and urban area of north Karnataka. Methodology: A nonrandomized educational interventional study (before and after comparative study without control) with 129 urban and 63 rural study participants was conducted in urban and rural field practice area of S. Nijalingappa Medical College, Bagalkot. Data were collected using pretested and predesigned pro forma which included sociodemographic details and DD score scale. Health education intervention was followed by postintervention data collection. Results: Most of the participants were in their old age. Male predominance was seen. Most of the participants belonged to Hindu religion (57% in rural and 69% in urban) and illiterate (46.5% in rural and 41.3% in urban). There was a significant reduction in DD (mean difference = 0.7, standard deviation = 0.7), when the study participants were given educational intervention. Conclusion: To combat the stress associated with diabetes, it is important to educate the patient to adapt with change in their lifestyle following the diagnosis of diabetes.