Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Diabetes is characterized by a number of metabolic disturbances. Self-management, that aims at normalizing these disturbances, constitutes the backbone of diabetes treatment. A number of factors may affect how patients take care of themselves. Knowledge of the current treatment guidelines is not sufficient alone, but must be translated into compliance. Also various psychological determinants, such as depression, may affect how patients take care of themselves. Sense of coherence (SOC), which refers to the extent to which individuals are able to use various resources to sustain and improve health, offers another kind of an approach to the issue of diabetes management. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the adherence with dietary recommendations in patients with type 1 diabetes, and to study the association between self-reported and measured compliance with recommendations. We also investigated the relevance of the SOC in diabetes self care, patients per-ceptions of their disease, and microvascular complications. Moreover the associations between depression and the metabolic syndrome and mortality were evaluated. The thesis is part of the Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy (FinnDiane) study. Compliance with dietary guidelines was highest for the intake of protein, alcohol, and sucrose. A substantial proportion of the participants consumed less carbohydrates, and fibre than recommended. Sodium chloride and saturated fatty acid intakes frequently exceeded the recommendations. Of the micronutrients, the recommendations for vitamin D, folate and iron were most frequently unmet. Self-reported compliance with dietary recommendations was reflected in more frequently meeting the recommendations for carbohydrates, total fat, saturated fatty acids, and alcohol intakes. Despite this, the observed frequencies of meeting the actual guidelines among these patients were, for many nutrients, only modest (e.g., 55% for carbohydrates and 35% for saturated fatty acids). In women, higher SOC score (indicating stronger SOC) was associated with more prudent food choices. In men, the SOC scores were positively associated with higher level of physical activity. Weak SOC was associated with higher HbA1c levels among women. In men, weak SOC was associated with the presence of diabetic nephropathy. Four factors were formed from the diabetes questionnaire (conceptions of HbA1c, complications, diabetes control, and hypoglycaemia). Higher factor scores describing less favourable self-reports were observed for conceptions of HbA1c and hypoglycaemia among those with weak SOC. Moreover, in men, weak SOC was associated with the complications factor. In women, the metabolic syndrome was a more frequent observation among those with symptoms of depression. Of the individual components of the metabolic syndrome, the BDI score was associated with the waist and triglyceride components in women. Purchases of antidepressant agents reduced the 10-year cumulative survival, mostly so among women with such purchases at around the baseline visit. The purchasers of antidepressant agents died mostly of chronic diabetic complications, while the predominant underlying cause of death among non-purchasers were cardiovascular diseases.
Source: Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja
Author: Aila J. Ahola
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1536550318