Exploring the Association of Psychological Status with Self-Rated Diabetes Control: Results from the Montreal Evaluation of Diabetes Treatment Study

AimsThere is an increasing interest in single-item self-rated indicators of perceived health and control status in people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes. However, self-rated measures can be associated with indicators of psychological status. The aim of this paper is to explore the association of anxiety, depression, and diabetes distress with self-rated diabetes control.MethodsTelephone interviews were conducted with 1,787 people with type 2 diabetes taking oral hypoglycemic medication. Diabetes control, health behaviors, and outcomes, anxiety, depression, and diabetes distress were assessed by standardized questionnaires. Self-reported diabetes control was modeled using logistic regression.ResultsThe best fit logistic regression model for self-rated poor diabetes control was a model that incorporated diabetes distress. When adjusted for age, sex, and all other health behaviors and outcomes, poor diabetes control was most associated with diabetes distress, physical inactivity, being overweight, and poor eating habits.ConclusionsResults from this study indicate that poor self-rated diabetes control shares the strongest associations with diabetes-specific distress along with perceptions of diabetes-specific healthcare behaviors and outcomes.