Diabetes Distress, Depression and Coping Strategies in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

People with diabetes often experience two mental health conditions which are diabetes distress and depression. Both the conditions affect them negatively and increase their risk of diabetes complications and poor disease management. Objectives: To find out the prevalence of diabetes distress and depression in our sample and examine the relationship among diabetes distress, depression and coping strategies among adults with Type 2 diabetes. Methods: Cross-sectional research design was used in this study. The sample consisted of 125 patients of Type 2 diabetes with age range between 40 to 55 years (M=49.94, SD=4.21). Non probability purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample. Diabetes distress scale, depression scale and coping scale were used to assess the study variables. Results: 34% patients had moderate distress worthy of attention. Being woman, younger age, having poor coping skills and depression were significantly associated with diabetes distress. Conclusions: High rates of diabetes distress in the study highlights the significance of identifying distress and other mental health issues in individuals having diabetes to provide psychological management and collaborative care to them.