Pain affects how well people with diabetes cope

	Tweet

People with diabetes often suffer from chronic and sometimes severe pain, and this can create difficulties for them in the management of their condition and with self-care activities, researchers have found.

“Many adults experience chronic pain, yet little is known about the consequences of such pain among individuals with diabetes,” Dr. Sarah L. Krein, of the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, and colleagues write in the medical journal Diabetes Care.

The researchers examined the effects of chronic pain on diabetes self-management among 993 patients receiving care through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Chronic pain was defined as the presence of pain most of the time for at least 6 months during the past year. Information was collected from the participants using a written survey.

About 60 percent of the subjects reported having chronic pain. They tended to be younger than those without chronic pain, female, more likely to be using insulin and overweight.

A significant association was seen between chronic pain and poorer overall diabetes control. Patients with chronic pain also had more difficulty following recommended exercise and eating plans.

“Among patients with chronic pain, overall self-management was also significantly poorer for those who indicated their pain was severe or very severe compared with those who rated their pain as mild or moderate,” the team reports. “Specifically, patients with severe pain reported more difficulty with taking diabetes medications and with exercise.”

Based on the findings, Krein’s group suggests that “chronic pain may be a major limiting factor in the performance of certain self-care behaviors and thereby reinforces the need to proactively address such potential competing demands” for people with diabetes.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, January 2005.

RELATED STORIES:
Shrunken foot muscles signal diabetic nerve damage   Diabetes ups cancer death risk   WHO warns of enormous burden of chronic disease: Non-Communicable Diseases   Young Black Women Prone to Gain More Unhealthy Abdominal Fat than Hispanics   Obstructive sleep apnea, retinopathy linked in diabetes   Eating red meat ups diabetes risk in older women   Psychosocial factors may affect diabetes risk   Britons at risk of diabetes know little of disease   UM School of Medicine finds that mobile phone technology helps patients manage diabetes   Culprit found for increased stroke injury with diabetes   Mom’s Poor Diet Can Up Diabetes Risk in Child   Long-acting insulin safe for type 2 diabetes

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]