Serious psychological distress and diabetes care among California adults.

Objective: To evaluate three aspects of diabetes care (foot checks, eye examinations, and hemoglobin A 1 C checks by a physician) among California adults with Type 2 diabetes and serious psychological distress (SPD).

Method: Data were from the population-based 2005 California Health Interview Survey. Estimates were that in 2005, 1,516,171 Californians (5.75% of all adults) had a physician-given diabetes diagnosis, and of those, 108,621 (7.16%) had co-morbid SPD.

Results: Among Californians with Type 2 diabetes, SPD was associated with fewer physician foot checks (odds ratio = 0.56, 95% Confidence Interval = 0.32 to 0.97) but not with fewer eye examinations or hemoglobin A 1 C checks.

Conclusions: The findings highlight a specific area--foot complication evaluation and prevention--for improving the quality of diabetes care among adult Californians with Type 2 diabetes and SPD.