Emotional Correlates of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Individuals With and Without Diabetes

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To compare the mental health experiences associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adults with and without diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Between 29 May 2020 and 30 June 2020, 2,176 U.S. adults completed an online survey including demographics, COVID-19 experiences, depression (eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire) and anxiety (seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder) symptoms, perceived stress (10-item Perceived Stress Scale), resilience (Brief Resilience Scale), and diabetes-related distress (in participants with diabetes) (17-item Diabetes Distress Scale). RESULTS Mean age was 49.6 years (SD 16.9); participants were primarily women (80.0%) and White (88.3%), with an annual household income of ≥$60,000 (57.6%). One hundred reported a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (4.6%), 304 type 2 diabetes (13.9%), and 145 prediabetes (6.6%). Nearly one-third (29.7%) indicated decreases in income attributable to the pandemic. Participants with type 1 diabetes had higher levels of diabetes distress than participants with type 2 diabetes (P < 0.05), with moderate severity in both groups. Participants with type 2 diabetes had significantly more comorbidities and COVID-19 risk factors than all other groups (all P < 0.01). After controlling for covariates, participants with type 2 diabetes reported significantly more depressive symptoms than those without diabetes (P < 0.05) and lower levels of resilience (P < 0.05). Subgroup analyses by sex and age indicated that women and younger adults, particularly those age 18–34 years, reported significantly more depression and anxiety symptoms, stress, and diabetes-related distress and lower levels of resilience than men and adults age ≥51 years. CONCLUSIONS In this naturalistic observational study, participants with type 2 diabetes reported more depression, lower resilience, and significantly more COVID-19 risk factors and medical comorbidities than participants without diabetes. Overall, our participants demonstrated worse depression and anxiety symptoms during compared with before the pandemic.