Affects diabetes has on spouses

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Diabetes Impacts Spouses of Those with Diabetes

Older patients with diabetes who are not dealing well with the disease are

likely to have symptoms of depression, and spouses of older patients also

suffer distress related to diabetes and its management....

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M. s, an assistant professor of child development and family

studies, stated that, " Responsibilities and anxieties can differ for

patients with diabetes and their spouses, but each may experience stress,

frustration and sadness at times related to the demands of living with this

disease. " " We know spouses often support their partners, but in our work we

want to know what form their involvement takes and how the disease and its

management affect both the patient and spouse. "

s and her team found that the distress spouses feel is similar to what

patients feel, and this could contribute to their own depressive symptoms

such as irritability or sadness. These depressive symptoms come from their

own anxieties about living with the disease or caring for someone with the

disease and not necessarily because the other person is struggling.

Researchers also found that when male patients were concerned about the

management of their diabetes, their depressive symptoms were elevated more

than those for female patients with similar levels of concerns.

s noted that, this gender difference is consistent with prior work

showing that male patients who are not managing their disease well tend to

experience greater depressive symptoms. " And while we saw this difference

between male and female patients, we did not see the same pattern of

distress between their respective spouses. This is surprising, because one

might assume that the spouse would be as worried, or, according to family

roles, that wives might worry more. However, more research, especially

long-term observations, is needed. "

The findings were based on statistical models with 185 couples older than

50. The patients and spouses completed individual surveys that measured

distress related to diabetes, such as adherence to treatment

recommendations, as well as depressive symptoms. The gender effects were

measured by comparing the couples' responses. There were 67 female patients

and 118 male patients, and each couple was screened to make sure only one

person had diabetes.

" Because spouses' distress is not always directly linked to feelings of

their partner, it tells us that we need to pay more attention to the spouse

as well as the patient, " she said. " Understanding the triggers for

depressive symptoms can help practitioners and experts better care for

patients and spouses as individuals and as a unit. "

" We also found that many people reported some depressive symptoms, and some

reported levels indicative of risk for clinical depression. It's important

to consider depressive symptoms because they may signal concerns and

problems that could be alleviated with treatment. "

Diabetes affects about one in five Americans over the age of 60, and the

majority of those people have Type 2 diabetes. The incidence of the disease,

which is considered a leading cause of death, is increasing as more people

are overweight and sedentary.

In this study, spouses often reported that the disease's daily management as

well as the fear of their loved one's living with diabetes were common

concerns.

Family Relations journal, Dec. 2010

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This article originally posted 01 February, 2011 and appeared in