2792-LB: Preliminary Pilot Data on Group Emotion-Focused Behavioral Intervention for Diabetes Distress in Type 2 Diabetes

Introduction and Objective: Diabetes Distress (DD) affects 36-49% of adults with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and is a key barrier to glycemic management. DD is driven in part by deficits in emotion regulation (ER), the ability to identify and respond to diabetes-related emotional experiences, yet current interventions do not adequately target these deficits. A group-based emotion-focused behavioral intervention (G-EFBI) may address this gap by building ER experience and skill in a scalable format. To determine whether G-EFBI produces reductions in DD subscale scores in adults with T2D and elevated baseline distress. Methods: A preliminary pilot study involved six adults with T2D, HbA1c > 7.0%, and elevated Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS) scores. G-EFBI comprised of 10 weekly 75-minute virtual group sessions targeting ER experience and skill. DDS subscales include: Emotional Burden (EB), Physician Related (PR), Regimen Related (RR), and Interpersonal Distress (ID). These were assessed at baseline, midline, and post-treatment. Paired t-tests were used to examine change over time. Results: Six adults with T2D completed G-EFBI. Significant reductions were observed in EB from baseline to midline (M=5.17±1.60 vs. 3.0±1.26; p=0.048) and in PR distress from baseline to midline (M=4.51±1.21 vs. 4.11±1.53; p=0.041). RR improved from baseline to post-treatment (M=3.54±1.33 vs. 2.46±1.21; p=0.013). Trends toward improvement were noted for EB baseline to post (M=5.17±1.60 vs. 3.67±1.37; p =0.060) and PR distress baseline to post (M=4.51±1.21 vs. 3.62±1.56; p=0.076). ID did not change significantly (all p>0.18). Conclusion: This preliminary pilot of G-EFBI demonstrated early reductions in Emotional Burden, Physician-Related, and Regimen-Related distress in adults with T2D, with the largest effects at mid-treatment. Interpersonal Distress did not change significantly, which may reflect the small sample or indicate interpersonal aspects of DD require more targeted components. These findings support the feasibility of a G-EFBI approach for DD and will inform a refined second pilot and subsequent randomized controlled trial. Disclosure N. Vellanki: None. Funding National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (2024H0014)