When African Americans with type 2 diabetes perceive their condition as unchangeable (diabetes fatalism), their quality of life and mental health suffer, potentially leading to worse clinical outcomes, according to a new study led by Sandra Iregbu, assistant professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
For their study, Dr. Iregbu and her co-authors from the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System recruited a sample of African American adults with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes to investigate the relationship between diabetes fatalism, clinical outcomes, and health-related quality of life. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 12 sessions of diabetes education and skills training or their usual care. Over a one-year period, the research team periodically measured each participant’s A1c levels, blood pressure, and health-related quality of life. They also measured diabetes fatalism and emotional distress using the 12-item Diabetes Fatalism Scale and its emotional distress sub-scale.
According to the results, African Americans with higher diabetes fatalism scores had worse mental health. Furthermore, those with higher emotional distress scores had worse mental and physical health, and had higher A1c levels. Based on these findings, the authors believe that enhancing the screening methods for diabetes fatalism among African Americans with type 2 diabetes could potentially lead to better management of the condition and a higher quality of life.