Patients undergoing diabetes_testing. who have a lower propensity to trust and seek out others may be at a greater risk of death than those with a more interactive lifestyle, new research has found.
In the study, Paul Ciechanowski, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington, and his colleagues examined 3,535 adult patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and had them fill out questionnaires regarding their personality and lifestyle. Participants were then divided into two groups – those with an independent style, who tended to be either dismissive or fearful of close relationships, and those with an interactive style, who generally felt comfortable seeking out support.Over the duration of the study, individuals who were more introverted and mistrustful had a 33 percent higher mortality rate than those who were more extraverted and emotionally open. The mortality rates remained the same after accounting for potential risk factors, such as age, body mass index and other medical conditions. Many self-management behaviors related to diabetes are optimally carried out in collaboration with others - family, peers and health-care providers," said Ciechanowski, adding that a self reliant attitude may actually be a deterrent in managing diabetes.
I wouldn’t take anything personal although this study make some sence
We conducting multiple Diabetes Education classes for adults and folks who actively participate achieve some significant results, droping their A1C 1-2% faster then the rest, who just attend and didn’t participate.
The whole idea and desire to change behavior & life style play significant role in controlling individual diabetes together with proper balanced nutrition and moderated food intake.
I hope your brother will live long life and wouldn’t develop any complications derived from uncontrolled diabetes. RX alone is only small part of comprehensive approach.
Education is knowledge, knowledge is power that can’t replaced with RX.
I assume that they are talking about those of us who seek out others to discuss our diabetes control methods versus those who do things on their own without really bothering to talk to anybody about it. It would be interesting to know if they count online communities in their survey.
I would say that if I had not ventured into TuDiabetes, I would not have been bothered to try the insulin pump and CGM…I lived for a long time quite satisfied with my MDI routine. However, I never had a better A1c than 7.0% most of the time. But once I got involved online with TuDiabetes and got my endo to prescribe a pump and CGM for me, I immediately reaped the benefits - my most recent A1c was 5.8% which I had never thought possible. My next one is surely going to be 5% or less, the way I am aggressively controlling my bg numbers…all thanks to the pump and CGM. I’m also benefiting greatly from all the discussions that go on at TuDiabetes. Just looking at the improvements in my control, I have reduced my risk of dying from diabetic complications by more than the study’s 33%.
So, yes, I agree with the study that one should get involved in discussing with other diabetics about diabetes control - in person or online - to achieve a better life with diabetes.
Thanks for the great post John, very uplifting.
God bless you John.
You are 110% correct, small step in the right directions bring significant impact.
We see this transformation happen to many folks, time and time again
Folks who are somewhat hesitant when they attend first orientation until they see their own results which motivate their further involvement and further improvement