Effects of mindfulness training on diabetes-related distress and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the effects of mindfulness training on diabetes-related distress and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, so as to provide evidence for nursing interventions. Methods A total of 90 inpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were randomly assigned to a control group and an observation group of 45 cases. The control group received routine health education, while the observation group received mindfulness training by the mindfulness training team composed of seven members including psychological counselors and nurse educators. Both groups were followed up for 6 months, and the scores of diabetes-related distress and quality of life were measured before and 6 months after the intervention. t-test was adopted to compare the difference between the two groups. Results After the intervention, the total score and scores of each dimension of diabetes-related distress in the observation group were (1.81±0.40) , (1.99±0.45) , (1.45±0.20) , (2.01±0.27) , and (1.51±0.21) respectively. Correspondingly, the scores of the control group were (2.07±0.24) , (2.21±0.40) , (1.61±0.19) , (2.57±0.25) and (2.20±0.23) , which were all higher than the observation group, with statistical differences (t=3.54, 2.32, 3.69, 9.68, 14.11; P<0.05) . The scores of quality of life in disease dimension, physiological dimension, psychological dimension, social dimension and satisfaction dimension were (28.41±5.40) , (21.05±4.16) , (21.08±5.16) , (19.04±3.30) and (22.84±3.79) in the observation group, which were all lower than those in the control group respectively [ (36.08±5.20) , (23.80±5.00) , (24.11±5.22) , (21.34±3.47) , (24.64±3.50) ], the differences were statistically significant (t=6.51, 2.69, 2.63, 3.06, 2.22; P<0.05) . Conclusions Mindfulness training can reduce the degree of diabetes-related distress and improve the quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Key words: Diabetes mellitus, type 2; Quality of life; Mindfulness training; Diabetes-related distress