Association of Higher Rates of Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) Complications with Psychological and Demographic Variables: Results of a Cross-Sectional Study

Agnieszka Łukasiewicz,1 Ewelina Cichoń,2,3 Barbara Kostecka,4 Andrzej Kiejna,2,3 Aleksandra Jodko-Modlińska,4 Marcin Obrębski,4 Andrzej Kokoszka4 1Faculty of Nursing in Warsaw, University of Humanities and Economics in Lodz, Warsaw, Poland; 2Institute of Psychology, WSB University in Toruń, Toruń, Poland; 3Collegium of Psychological Studies, University of Lower Silesia, Wrocław, Poland; 4 2nd Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, PolandCorrespondence: Andrzej Kokoszka, Tel/Fax +48 22 326 58 92, Email andrzej.kokoszka@wum.edu.plIntroduction: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the occurrence and number of T2DM complications with sociodemographic (age, sex, habitation, education), clinical (duration of diabetes, HbA1c (%), BMI) and psychological (well-being, sense of influence on the diabetes course, coping styles) variables.Methods: A total of 2574 adult patients were assessed using The Sense of Influence on the Diabetes Course Scale, WHO-5 Well-Being Index, and the Brief Method of Evaluating Coping with Disease. Hierarchical Regression Analysis was conducted with number of complications as the dependent variable and three sets of variables entered in sequential steps: (a) sociodemographic; (b) clinical and (c) psychological factors. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of these variables with diabetes complications’ occurrence.Results: A higher number of complications and higher odds ratios of occurrence of complications were associated with sociodemographic and clinical variables, poor well-being, low perception of influence on the diabetes course, and an emotion-oriented coping style. The logistic regression indicated that participants with HbA1c > 7% (in comparison with HbA1c ≤ 7%) and with high risk of depression (in comparison with no risk of depression) had respectively 68% and 86% higher odds of deve