posted 08/27/02
A stress management program may help people with type 2 diabetes improve their blood sugar levels, a new study shows.
Researchers from Duke University studied 108 patients, ages 30 or older, with type 2 diabetes. Patients participated in a diabetes education program with or without stress management training. Patients in the stress management program received education on the health consequences of stress, cognitive and behavioral skills to reduce stress, and progressive muscle relaxation. Researchers measured the patients' stress levels and hemoglobin A1C levels throughout the year. Hemoglobin A1C represents a patient's average blood sugar level for the previous three months. A good A1C level is between 4 percent and 6 percent, although 7 percent is considered a good target by many doctors and patients.
After one year, 32 percent of patients who participated in the stress management program had lowered their A1C level by 1 percent. This kind of reduction is significant and can greatly reduce a patient's risk of future complications related to diabetes. Only 12 percent of the patients who received only the diabetes education program reduced their A1C levels by that much.
Richard S. Surwit, Ph.D, from Duke University, says, "For someone already in good control of their diabetes, the reduction in hbA1c might bring them to near normal levels. For those in poorer control, it would probably not, but the reduction is associated with fewer diabetes complications."
Source: Ivanhoe Newswire: The 110th annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Chicago, Aug. 22 - 25, 2002.