Lydiya Thomas
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Scotland
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Diabetes Metab
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to establish the prevalence of Diabetes-Specific Psychological Distress (DSPD) among patients with Type 2 diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) using the Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) scale at a tertiary hospital in South India. Other objectives include observing the relationship between socio-demographic factors and DSPD and finally exploring the level of acceptance of the PAID scale by Asian Indian patients. Methods: Patients with T2DM who are aged more than 18 years and were attending the diabetes outpatients were recruited and they were provided with two sets of questionnaires. After they completed two sets of questionnaires, PAID and a satisfactory questionnaire, which included socio-demographic characteristics and questions related to the acceptance of PAID, the statistical analysis was performed using Stata 13.1 and Excel. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review board and the ethics committee of Christian Medical College, Vellore. Results: 253 questionnaires were completed including 157 (62.1%) male patients and it was observed that the prevalence of DSPD was 32.8% (83/253); younger age (OR 3.65 (95% CI 1.36-9.80)) and presence of retinopathy (OR 2.60 (95% CI 1.12-6.04)) significantly predicted DSPD. However, it was also observed that one-third of the patients had elevated distress regardless of socio-demographic or clinical factors and PAID was well-accepted by the participants and 84.6% (214/253) were pleased to complete it again. Conclusion: About one-third of T2DM patients had DSPD and psychological distress was higher in the younger age group and those with retinopathy. Hence, it can be concluded that PAID is an easy, well-accepted questionnaire, and would serve as a useful tool to screen for DSPD.
Lydiya Thomas has completed her MBChB in 2015 from the University of Aberdeen. She is currently working for Foundation Program as a trainee in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. This project was done as part of her final year medical studies at the Christian Medical College Vellore, India. l.thomas.
Email: 10@aberdeen.ac.uk
