Abstract
The purpose of this work was to examine (1) relations of diabetes stress to psychological well-being and health, (2) links of age to such outcomes and (3) the extent to which age moderated relations from diabetes stress to outcomes. These aims were addressed in a diverse community sample of 207 individuals recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, employing survey and daily diary methods. Participants reported age, diabetes distress, and psychological distress at baseline and 6 months later. Glycemic control also was assessed. Participants completed a 14-day daily diary protocol in which they reported daily diabetes stressors, mood, and self-care. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal results showed diabetes distress was associated with poorer outcomes. Daily diary data showed that individuals who reported more daily diabetes stressors reported poorer outcomes. Older age was linked to less psychological distress, but was unrelated to daily diabetes stressors. Older age attenuated relations of diabetes distress to outcomes.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Pamela Snyder for her overall management of the project and the data to Courtney Armstrong, Emma Bright, Shaquille Charles, Gianna Davis, Aarohee Fulay, Tiona Jones, Katilyn Mascatelli, Jennifer Melynk, Jeanean Naqvi, and Charis Vanderpuye for interviewing the participants and to the participants who so graciously gave their time to this study. Portions of these data were presented at the 2019 Society of Behavioral Medicine conference.
Funding
This research was supported by National Institutes of Health R01 DK095780 and received assistance from the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute, which is supported by the National Institutes of Health Grant UL1TR000005.
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Vicki S. Helgeson, Meredith Van Vleet, Melissa Zajdel declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Helgeson, V.S., Van Vleet, M. & Zajdel, M. Diabetes stress and health: Is aging a strength or a vulnerability?. J Behav Med 43, 426–436 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-019-00106-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-019-00106-4