Enacted support matters in the relationship between psychological distress and health-related quality of life among type 2 diabetes patients in Nigeria

ABSTRACT

We examined whether the association between psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress) and diabetes-related quality of life (DRQoL) among type 2 diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients in Nigeria was moderated by enacted support (ES). Participants were 279 T2DMpatients (Mage = 59.65, SD: 11.57) conveniently sampled from three tertiary health-care institutions in Enugu State, Nigeria. Participants completed measures of diabetes-related Quality of Life, depression, anxiety, and stress. Results showed that ES moderated the relationship between anxiety and DRQoL. Moderation graph revealed that for participants with low and moderate ES, anxiety was positively associated with DRQoL. ES also moderated the association between stress and DRQoL. The moderation graph showed that for participants with low and moderate ES, stress was negatively associated with DRQoL. ES did not, however, moderate the association between depression and DRQoL. Our findings suggest the levels of supports for diabetes management behaviours that may be helpful toT2DM patients. This could guide health managers in developing strategies that might prevent or ameliorate the impact of psychological distress.

KEYWORDS:

• Anxiety
• depression
• diabetic Mellitus
• enacted support
• psychological distress
• stress

Disclosure statement

We disclose no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

We did not receive any funding in the course of this study.