ORCID

Abstract

BackgroundDiabetes distress, whereby people with diabetes experience distressing psychological symptoms associated with living with their condition, is an emerging problem in India. Diabetes distress leads to self-care deficits, suboptimal glycaemic control (which can lead to increasing risks of complications) and impaired quality of life.AimsTo determine the burden of diabetes distress and its associated factors in an Indian tertiary care centre in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India, covering a population of 1.25 million.MethodThis prospective observational study involved a structured questionnaire covering demographic and clinical details, which was given to patients. The Diabetes Distress Scale 17 (DDS-17) was used to assess diabetes distress levels. The DDS-17 also measures four subdomains: emotional burden, physician-related distress, regimen-related distress and diabetes-related interpersonal distress. Patients were divided into two groups based on their DDS-17 score: no diabetes distress (DDS-17 score <2) versus diabetes distress (DDS-17 score ≥2) and compared. Correlation analysis, chi-squared tests and t-tests were used, with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant.ResultsOf 1019 respondents (mean age 56 years; 59.6% male, 40.4% female), diabetes distress was reported in 24.4% (n = 249). Factors significantly associated with higher DDS-17 scores were younger age (<45 years) (P < 0.0001), long-standing diabetes (>10 years) (P < 0.0001), and smoking and alcohol (P < 0.05). Significant protective factors for diabetes distress included working, daily exercise, no comorbidities and medical insurance cover (P < 0.05). Significant positive correlation between DDS-17 score and all four subdomains was observed (P < 0.0001).ConclusionsOur findings highlight the need for routine psychological screening and holistic management strategies in diabetes care, to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

Publication Date

2026-01-01

Publication Title

BJPsych Open

Volume

12

Issue

3

ISSN

2056-4724

Deposit Date

2026-04-30

Funding

S.J.T. and R.S. are members of the BJPsych Open Editorial Board. They did not take part in the review or decision-making process of this paper. R.S. has received institutional and research support from LivaNova, Union Chimique Belge, Eisai, Veriton Pharma, Neuraxpharm, Bial, Angelini, UnEEG and Jazz Pharma outside the submitted work. He holds grants from National Institute for Health and Care Research, Small Business Research Initiative and other funding bodies all outside this work. No other author has any declared conflict of interest related to this paper.

Keywords

Psychological distress, diabetes mellitus, liaison, mental health, physical illness

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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1

Last Page

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