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Defeat Diabetes Foundation

Defeat Diabetes
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61% of Patients with Diabetes Are Apathetic Towards Glycemic Control

Posted: Thursday, January 10, 2008

The primary objective was to determine the prevalence of apathy characterized by loss of initiative and motivation in patients with diabetes.

The secondary objective was to determine if there was an association between clinically significant apathy and factors that affect glycemic control.

A cross-sectional study of 100 patients with diabetes who were assessed with the Apathy Evaluation Scale-Clinician version (AES-C), the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D), and the Self-Care Inventory (SCI). For this study we defined clinically significant apathy as AES-C score of >30. We excluded patients with a HAM-D score of >14 (n = 19) to avoid confounding from depression. T-tests were used to compare clinical characteristics between subjects with and without apathy. Multiple linear regression modeling was used to investigate the association between clinically significant apathy and factors that affect glycemic control.

Fifty (61.7% of 81) patients had clinically significant apathy. Compared to the non-apathetic patients, those with apathy had a higher mean BMI (30.5 kg/m2 versus 34.1 kg/m2 (p = 0.03)) and were less likely to adhere to an exercise plan (p = 0.01) or insulin regimen (p = 0.003). After adjustment for age, BMI, cholesterol, mild depression and the average Self-Care Index score, the mean HbA1C level was 0.66% greater for apathetic compared to non-apathetic subjects (P = 0.08).

From the results it was concluded that apathy is highly prevalent in patients with diabetes without depression. Apathy may have a negative impact on self-care behaviors and diabetes control.

Source: Diabetes In Control: Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice Volume 79, Issue 1, January 2008, Pages 37-41