COVID-19-Related Fear, Risk Perception, and Safety Behavior in Individuals with Diabetes

Abstract

(1) The aim of the study is to assess the psychological burden of individuals with diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison to matched controls. (2) Over the course of eight weeks, 9 April to 3 June 2020, 253 individuals with diabetes and 253 matched controls, using Propensity Score Matching (PSM), participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants completed an anonymous survey including demographics, depressive symptoms (PHQ-2), generalized anxiety (GAD-7), COVID-19-related fear, risk perception, and safety behavior. (3) While patients with diabetes expected their risk of infection similar to controls, they reported a higher probability of the occurrence of symptoms, severe course, and dying of COVID-19. Patients with diabetes showed no elevated generalized anxiety or depressive symptoms. However, they reported higher COVID-19-related fear and more adherent and dysfunctional safety behavior compared to controls. (4) From a public health view, it seems encouraging that despite the somatic risk condition, generalized anxiety and depression are not higher in patients with diabetes than in controls. Patients with diabetes report higher COVID-19-related fear, increased risk perception, and behavioral changes. This suggests that individuals with diabetes, as a significant risk group of severe COVID-19, show an adequate perception and functional reaction to the current pandemic.

The Effect of Risk Perception on Anxiety in Emerging Adulthood Under the Local Outbreak of COVID-19: A Conditional Process Analysis

“…Firstly, it is similar to previous studies our research results confirm the H1 that the GAD of emerging adults is significantly related to the PRCP ( Oyetunji et al, 2021 ; Yin et al, 2021 ). For previous studies that do not support this result ( Musche et al, 2021 ), we introduced resilience as a moderator variable to test. The final results support our H2 that resilience moderates the effect PRCP has on GAD.…”

“…Studies have shown that the perceived risk of the COVID-19 pandemic (PRCP) can positively predict Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD; Oyetunji et al, 2021 ; Yin et al, 2021 ). But there are also different results, Musche’s study on diabetic patients found that their risk perception is higher than that of the control group, but the level of GAD is no different from that of the control group ( Musche et al, 2021 ). Therefore, PRCP may have a moderating variable in predicting GAD.…”

Does Oxidative Stress Management Help Alleviation of COVID-19 Symptoms in Patients Experiencing Diabetes?

“…Along with diabetes, old age, congestive heart failure, smoking, β-blocker use, presence of bilateral lung infiltrates, elevated creatinine and severe vitamin D deficiency" are significant cause of mortality in COVID-19 patients [3]. In addition, high plasma lactate dehydrogenase level, a marker of oxidative stress, and advanced age 70 years or above) showed increased mortality, anxiety, and severity of COVID-19 symptoms in the clinic [4][5][6]. Several questions need to be answered to understand the pathophysiological connections between COVID-19 and diabetes mellitus, which leads to an increase in fatalities.…”

Evaluation of the E-Mental Health Mindfulness-Based and Skills-Based “CoPE It” Intervention to Reduce Psychological Distress in Times of COVID-19: Results of a Bicentre Longitudinal Study

“…Also, the pandemic appears to systematically put already vulnerable people at disadvantage: indeed, individuals with preexisting mental health issues are particularly affected by the pandemic, now reaching concerning levels of symptom outcomes ( 14 , 15 ). COVID-19-related fear represents a pandemic specific stressor that can be found across different countries ( 16 ) and highly affects individuals with high-risk diseases ( 17 ) and oncological patients ( 18 ). In terms of mental health many individuals affected by the pandemic are not attainable in a timely manner.…”