Negative emotions, self-care activities on glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study

Glycemic control has become a focus of concern among diabetic patients. However, only 26.71% of patients achieved better glycemic control in China. Given the complexity of glycemic control, it is worth investigating the potential mechanisms between negative emotions and glycemic control. A total of 428 participants were recruited from a tertiary hospital (the number of hospital beds>500). They completed questionnaires consisting of demographics, Zung Self-Assessed Anxiety Scale(SAS), Zung Self-Assessed Depression Scale(SDS), and the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA). HbA1 c was used to measure glycemic control. Descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and Bootstrap analysis were conducted to analyze data. A total of 428 questionnaires were distributed, with 28 invalid questionnaires (93.46% were valid). Depression and self-care activities (exercise, medication) were associated with glycemic control. At the same time, the Bootstrap analysis revealed that self-care activities (exercise: standardized coefficient β = 0.0181, p < 0.05, medication: standardized coefficient β = 0.0211, p < 0.05) mediated the relationship between depression and glycemic control.