Glycemic Control and Blood Glucose Monitoring Over Time in a Sample of Young Australians With Type 1 Diabetes

Abstract

OBJECTIVETo determine whether personality traits (conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional regulation, extraversion, and openness to experience) are associated with glycemic control and blood glucose monitoring behavior, and change or stability of these outcomes over time, in young people with type 1 diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSA 3-year longitudinal study was conducted using data from 142 individuals with type 1 diabetes, 8–19 years of age. Personality was assessed at baseline using the Five-Factor Personality Inventory for Children. Data relating to glycemic control (HbA1c) and frequency of blood glucose monitoring (based on meter memory) were collected annually. Relationships between personality traits and HbA1c and monitoring frequency were examined using regression models and mixed-design ANOVA.RESULTSThree of the Five-Factor domains were independently associated with glycemic control. Individuals high in conscientiousness and agreeableness had a lower and more stable HbA1c across the 3-year study period. In contrast, the HbA1c of individuals scoring low on these traits was either consistently worse or deteriorated over time. Low or high emotional regulation scores were also associated with worse glycemic control. By the third year, these domains, together with initial HbA1c, accounted for 39% of HbA1c variance. Conscientiousness was the only personality factor associated with blood glucose monitoring behavior.CONCLUSIONSResults of this study underline the importance of personality in contributing to diabetes outcomes. Attention to a young person’s personality, and appropriate tailoring of diabetes management to ensure an individualized approach, may help to optimize diabetes outcomes.

The five-factor model of personality and self-reported versus biomarker diabetic control

“…Conversely, in a sample of Type 2 diabetic participants, SzymborskaKajanek et al (2006) found higher HbA1c was associated with higher neuroticism, lower agreeableness (the tendency to be altruistic and cooperative), and lower conscientiousness (the tendency to be responsible and organized). Waller et al (2013) found higher conscientiousness and agreeableness were associated with more stable HbA1c over a 3-year period for participants with Type 1 diabetes. Finally, Skinner et al (2014) found no association with HbA1c and any of the five personality factors for those with Type 2 diabetes.…”

Does personality influence how people with asthma manage their condition?

“…Negative relationships have been found between adherence behavior and neuroticism [32,35] and extraversion [28]. Low or high neuroticism scores in patients with type 1 diabetes showed worse glycaemic control, suggesting a non-linear relationship may exist between these variables [29]. Conscientiousness, agreeableness and extraversion have been shown to positively correlate with self-efficacy [36,37], whilst a negative relationship between neuroticism and self-efficacy has been found [36,38].…”

“…For example, the traits conscientiousness [29][30][31]33,34] and agreeableness [35] have been found to have positive associations with adherence to medication regimens and diabetic glycaemic control [29]. Conscientiousness also predicted HIV disease progression and patients' coping [31].…”

“…Previous studies have suggested that correlates of illness management can be related to personality traits in conditions such as depression [28], type 1 diabetes [29], multiple sclerosis [30], HIV [31], and periodontal therapy [32].…”

Psychological factors associated with diabetes self-management among adolescents with Type 1 diabetes: A systematic review

“…Two studies (Waller et al, 2013;Wheeler, Wagaman, & McCord, 2012) investigated the relationships between self-management and the five personality factors of conscientiousness, openness to experience, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism/emotional regulation. Strong correlations were observed for four of the personality factors (Wheeler et al, 2012): higher levels of conscientiousness with greater adherence to insulin administration and dietary advice; higher levels of agreeableness with greater adherence to insulin administration; greater neuroticism with lower levels of insulin adherence; and higher levels of extraversion with greater adherence to exercise.…”