Impact of “Diabetes” Label

(Defeat Diabetes® News) -- A diabetes diagnosis, as opposed to an impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) diagnosis, has been shown to have a profound psychological effect on how the patient deals with the disease.

IGT is a pre-diabetic disorder associated with insulin resistance and risk of cardiovascular problems, and often a predecessor to type 2 diabetes.  Since IGT often leads to “true” diabetes, the severity of each respective diagnosis is comparable, but a study has shown that patients respond much differently to an IGT diagnosis than a diabetes diagnosis.

52 adult participants were studied, all with fasting glucose levels of 100-140 mg/dl and “post-load” (post consumption of at least 75 g of glucose) levels of 141-193 mg/dl, all with no prior diagnosis of IGT or diabetes. No classification was done by demographic or age, with 42 of the 52 participants being women.

The 52 participants were separated into four groups of 13. Within each group, each patient was given general information about problems with glucose metabolism and ways to manage the problems, half labeled with “diabetes,” the other half labeled “impaired glucose tolerance” indicating diagnosis. These diagnoses were randomized within the groups of 13.

The study showed that a patient “diagnosed” with diabetes was more likely to acquire a better knowledge of the disease, more likely to comply with treatment and more likely to have better glucose control. Diabetes diagnosis also resulted in lower emotional impact and coping mechanism scores (which included avoidance distraction and passive acceptance), which means those diagnosed with diabetes are more likely to accept the prospect of living with diabetes. These conclusions were drawn from mean values of the patients within each group, taking into account standard deviations.

The clear conclusion of this study is that the “labeling” that comes in a diagnosis has a significant impact on how a patient deals with their condition. Also, it shows that even without any prior understanding of a disease, like diabetes, the label alone can impact how a patient responds to treatment and deals with the disease.

Source: Defeat Diabetes Foundation: Lara, Carmen. Ponce de Leon, Sergio. Foncerrada, Hector. Vega, Martin. Diabetes Care. December 2007. 30:3029-3030.

Daniel H. Rasolt writes for Defeat Diabetes® News. Read more of his original content articles.

Copyright © 2008 Defeat Diabetes Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.