Diabetes Medical Group Visits and Type 2 Diabetes Outcomes: Mediation Analysis of Diabetes Distress.

Background: Group-based diabetes care, both technology-enabled and in-person, can improve diabetes outcomes in low-income minority women, but the mechanism remains unclear.

Objective: We tested whether diabetes group medical visits (GMVs) reduced hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) by mitigating diabetes distress (DD), an emotional response affecting nearly half of adults with type 2 diabetes in community settings.

Methods: We conducted a mediation and moderation analysis of data from the Women in Control 2.0 comparative effectiveness study, which showed that both technology-enabled and in-person diabetes GMVs improve HbA1c. We tested whether DD mediated the relationship between diabetes GMV engagement and reductions in HbA1c. We also tested whether this relationship was moderated by depressive symptoms and social support. Participants were 309 low-income and minority women. Diabetes GMV engagement was measured using the Group Climate Questionnaire. The mediator, DD, was measured using the Diabetes Distress Screening Scale. The outcome was the 6-month change in HbA1c. Social support was measured using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey.

Results: DD mediated the relationship between engagement and 6-month HbA1c. Specifically, group engagement affected HbA1c by reducing distress associated with the regimen of diabetes self-management (P=.04), and possibly the emotional burden of diabetes (P=.09). The relationship between engagement and 6-month HbA1c was moderated by depressive symptoms (P=.02), and possibly social support (P=.08).

Conclusions: Engagement in diabetes GMVs improved HbA1c because it helped reduce diabetes-related distress, especially related to the regimen of diabetes management and possibly related to its emotional burden, and especially for women without depressive symptoms and possibly for women who lacked social support.