Abstract
BackgroundDiabetes distress is a general term that refers to the emotional burdens, anxieties, frustrations, stressors and worries that stem from managing a severe, complex condition like Type 1 diabetes. To date there has been limited research on diabetes-related distress in younger people with Type 1 diabetes. This qualitative study aimed to identify causes of diabetes distress in a sample of young adults with Type 1 diabetes.MethodsSemi-structured interviews with 35 individuals with Type 1 diabetes (23–30 years of age).ResultsThis study found diabetes related-distress to be common in a sample of young adults with Type 1 diabetes in the second phase of young adulthood (23–30 years of age). Diabetes distress was triggered by multiple factors, the most common of which were: self-consciousness/stigma, day-to-day diabetes management difficulties, having to fight the healthcare system, concerns about the future and apprehension about pregnancy. A number of factors appeared to moderate distress in this group, including having opportunities to talk to healthcare professionals, attending diabetes education programmes and joining peer support groups. Young adults felt that having opportunities to talk to healthcare professionals about diabetes distress should be a component of standard diabetes care.ConclusionsSome aspects of living with diabetes frequently distress young adults with Type 1 diabetes who are in their twenties. Clinicians should facilitate young adults’ attendance at diabetes education programmes, provide them with opportunities to talk about their diabetes-related frustrations and difficulties and, where possible, assist in the development of peer-support networks for young adults with diabetes.
Highlights
Diabetes distress is a general term that refers to the emotional burdens, anxieties, frustrations, stressors and worries that stem from managing a severe, complex condition like Type 1 diabetes
Several peer-group organizers who we interviewed noted that they had approached hospitals to ask for small amounts of funding to support their groups; while hospitals were often enthusiastic about the idea of young adult support groups, they said that they were unable to fund them in any way
Many aspects of managing diabetes distress young adults with Type 1 diabetes who are in their twenties
Summary
Diabetes distress is a general term that refers to the emotional burdens, anxieties, frustrations, stressors and worries that stem from managing a severe, complex condition like Type 1 diabetes. To date there has been limited research on diabetes-related distress in younger people with Type 1 diabetes. This qualitative study aimed to identify causes of diabetes distress in a sample of young adults with Type 1 diabetes. Diabetes is associated with psychological morbidity [1]. Psychological morbidity is clinically important for people with diabetes because it is often associated with diabetes management problems [1,4]. Most research into psychological morbidity in individuals with Type 1 diabetes has focused on serious psychopathology. Distress in people with diabetes (Type 1 and 2) has usually been measured and studied quantitatively [2,11,15,16]
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