Personality correlates of glycemic control in type 2 diabetes.

Abstract

Abbreviations: NEO-PI-R, NEO Personality Inventory, Revised; SMBG, self-monitoring of blood glucose. A table elsewhere in this issue shows conventional and Système International (SI) units and conversion factors for many substances. Personality Correlates of Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes O R I G I N A L A R T I C L EOBJECTIVE -To determine whether traits of normal personality are associated with variations in glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -A longitudinal cohort study was conducted using data from 105 type 2 diabetic patients in a clinical trial of a stress management intervention. Before treatment assignment, patients completed the NEO Personality Inventory, Revised, which is a questionnaire inventory measuring 5 major domains of normal personality and 30 important traits that define these domains. Glycemic control was assessed by measures of HbA 1c and average blood glucose levels based on 7 days of self-monitoring at baseline and at 6 and 12 months. Relationships between personality traits and measures of glycemic control were examined by correlation and linear regression models that were adjusted for age, sex, race, duration of diabetes, medication status, and experimental treatment.RESULTS -Lower average blood glucose values at baseline were associated with higher scores for the personality domain of neuroticism and several specific traits including anxiety, angry hostility, depression, self-consciousness, and vulnerability but were associated with lower scores for the trait of altruism. Results were similar for HbA 1c but were not as strong. Followup results were similar but were less consistent.CONCLUSIONS -Personality traits may offer new insights into variations in glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes undergoing standard management. The relative tendency to experience fewer negative emotions and to focus on the needs of others instead of oneself could prove to be a risk factor for poor glycemic control.

An association of adverse psychosocial factors with diabetes mellitus: a meta-analytic review of longitudinal cohort studies

“…1. Tables 1 and 2, and the Electronic supplementary material (ESM Table 1), detail the papers that were included in (n=14) [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] and excluded from (n=11) the review. There were 16 relationships between psychosocial measures and disease-related factors in populations with diabetes and six relationships between psychosocial measures and diseaserelated factors in populations without diabetes at baseline.…”

Effect of individualized diabetes education for type 2 diabetes mellitus: a single-center randomized clinical trial

“…A previous clinical trial found that lower average blood glucose values at baseline were associated with higher scores for neuroticism and several specific traits including anxiety, angry hostility, depression, self-consciousness, and vulnerability. 3 One explanation for these relations between personality and blood sugar level was that people with higher neuroticism scores are more prone to experience negative emotions, which may provide increased motivation for a patient to follow self-care regimen and achieve a better clinical outcome. 3 However, another study found that high neuroticism scores were associated with a higher level of glycosylated haemoglobin concentrations in patients with T1DM.…”

“…3 One explanation for these relations between personality and blood sugar level was that people with higher neuroticism scores are more prone to experience negative emotions, which may provide increased motivation for a patient to follow self-care regimen and achieve a better clinical outcome. 3 However, another study found that high neuroticism scores were associated with a higher level of glycosylated haemoglobin concentrations in patients with T1DM. 4 Patients with "dramatic-dependent" personality had a poor metabolic control.…”

“…1,2 Diabetic education was also associated with a lower rate of chronic complications from the chronic illness .1 In patients with T2DM, personality traits seem to be associated with the level of glycemic control. 3 High neuroticism scores were associated with a higher level of glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) concentrations in patients with T1DM. 4 A recent meta-analysis showed that adverse psychosocial factors, such as stress-prone personality or coping style, were associated with poor control of type 1 and type 2 diabetes.…”

Diabetes Diagnosis is related to Anxiety Among Mexican Americans But Not non-Hispanic Adults: A Project FRONTER study

“…The comorbidity of diabetes and anxiety has received a great amount of attention in the literature due to the potential of anxiety negatively impacting adherence to diabetes treatment. As such, treatment of anxiety symptoms may lead to an increase in motivation for self-care regimens in diabetic patients [27].…”