 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Alexandra A. Garcia, PhD, RN, School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, 1700 Red River, Austin, TX 78701, 512-232-4721, alexgarcia@mail.utexas.edu
Diabetes symptoms provide patients with up-to-the-minute information on their condition and are often used as indicators of treatment effectiveness. This study examined symptoms as a predictor of HbA1c and quality of life (QoL). Low-income Mexican Americans with type 2 diabetes (n=87, 77% female; 53% Spanish-speaking; with a mean age of 53 years; diagnosed for 9 years; 5 symptoms; and HbA1c = 8.29) were recruited from two clinics. Surveys were administered within one month of HbA1c testing. Separate hierarchical multiple regressions were used to predict HbA1c and QoL. Sex, acculturation, time diagnosed, and number of diabetes medications went into step 1; diabetes-knowledge in step 2; number of symptoms in step 3. The final models were significant in predicting HbA1c (Adjusted R2 = .116) and QoL (Adjusted R2 = .149). In both models symptoms was the only significant predictor (b = .24 and b = -.37) after controlling for the other variables and contributed 5% to the variance in HbA1c and 12% to the variance in QoL. Because significant bivariate correlations were observed between the clinic used and the outcome variables, the regressions were repeated adding clinic in step 4. Clinic explained 13% more variance in HbA1c and 6% more variance in QoL. After clinic was added symptoms significantly predicted QoL but not HbA1c. Symptoms significantly predicted HbA1c and QoL and should be addressed during health care visits. Further studies should explore which clinic policies, populations, and care delivery systems account for the additional variance explained in HbA1c and QoL.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Diabetes, Research
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.