Putting PAID to diabetes-related distress: the potential utility of the problem areas in diabetes (PAID) scale in patients with diabetes.

Introduction: Distress and depression are commonly reported negative affects in people with diabetes (PWD), and may influence glycemic control. 'Distress' can be measured as general or diabetes-related. 'Depression' is considered through symptom severity or episodes of depressive disorder, both potentially derived by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). While current depressive disorder is found to affect the course of diabetes mellitus (DM), past depressive disorder may have a similar impact.

Objectives: To test the relationships between DM-distress (measured by the Problem Areas in Diabetes instrument [PAID]) and glycemic control, while considering the effects of general distress; depression severity; and both current and previous depressive disorder.

Methods: In a diabetic service, 184 type 1 (n = 51) and type 2 (n = 133) PWD completed the PAID, PHQ-9 depression scale from the Patient Health Questionnaire, Kessler-10 psychological distress (K10), and Short-Form Survey (SF-12) instruments. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels measured on the day of recruitment were recorded from the case notes.

Results: DM-related distress correlated positively with HbA1c, PHQ-9 depression, K10, and SF-12 MCS (mental component summary) scores, (all p < 0.01); and negatively with age (p < 0.01). Regression analysis revealed a significant association between PAID with PHQ-9 depression scores (p < 0.01) and with HbA1c (p < 0.01). PWD with past depressive disorder had higher PAID scores than those without (p < 0.05), and this was significant even after controlling for current depression scores (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: In PWD, DM-specific distress measured by the PAID correlated significantly with impaired glycemic control. Both past and current depressions are independently associated with DM-distress. The PAID is discussed as a potential screening tool.