Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity (Dec 2021)
Affective Temperament and Glycemic Control – The Psychological Aspect of Obesity and Diabetes Mellitus
Abstract
Natalia Lesiewska,1 Anna Kamińska,2 Roman Junik,2 Magdalena Michalewicz,3 Bartłomiej Myszkowski,4 Alina Borkowska,1 Maciej Bieliński1 1Chair and Department of Clinical Neuropsychology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Poland; 2Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Poland; 3Department of Pulmonology, Allergology and Pulmonological Oncology, Military Clinical Hospital No. 10 with Policlinic in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Poland; 4Department of Obstetrics, Women’s Diseases and Oncological Gynecology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, PolandCorrespondence: Natalia Lesiewska Tel/Fax +48 52 585 37 03Email [email protected]: Affective temperament shows innate predisposition to affective disorders and has been studied in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. Studies describing connections between depressive disorders, obesity and T2DM, show a bidirectional way in which these disorders affect each other. Given that obesity, depression, and T2DM are still growing health problems of our times, the improvement of therapeutic strategies is required. The aim of our study was to evaluate affective temperament in obese individuals with T2DM and pre-diabetes and to investigate the correlations between affective temperaments and glycemic control.Materials and Methods: The study enrolled 185 obese individuals (146 females; 39 males) who were diagnosed with pre-diabetes, diabetes or without any carbohydrate disorder. For affective temperament evaluation, Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A) was utilized; for glycemic control, the assessment of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was performed.Results: We did not observe any significant differences of affective temperament between studied groups. In the group of patients with diabetes, depressive, cyclothymic and anxious temperaments positively correlated with HbA1c values indicating worse glycemic control. Inversly, hyperthymic dimension showed negative correlation with HbA1c values.Conclusion: Affective temperaments may affect glycemic control in obese individuals with carbohydrate disorders. Individuals with stronger expression of cyclothymic, depressive and anxious temperaments may need more medical aid for better self-management. Hence, TEMPS-A is an easy and useful tool which may significantly improve the compliance in obese patients with carbohydrate disorders.Keywords: affective temperament, TEMPS-A, obesity, diabetes mellitus, glycemic control
