 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Elena Gillespie, BS1, Suzanna M. Zick, ND, MPH1, and Martin Stevens, MD2. (1) Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Center, University of Michigan, 715 E. Huron Street Suite 1W, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, 734-998-7715, egillesp@umich.edu, (2) Department of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Michigan, 1150 W. Medical Center Dr, Box 0678, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
OBJECTIVE: To determine if a relationship exists between pain and spiritual beliefs in patients with Type 2 diabetes complicated by peripheral neuropathy and if these factors are related to compliance. METHODS: 151 patients with Type 2 diabetes (mean age 64.7 years, 60% of the patients diagnosed > 10 years duration) complicated by poorly controlled painful neuropathy recruited from advertisements and the Diabetes Clinics at the University of Michigan were administered standardized questionnaires measuring their beliefs and severity of pain. Spiritual beliefs were measured with a five-point Likert scale. Pain was assessed using a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS). RESULTS: 95.4% of diabetic subjects with pain believed in a higher power as compared to 94.1% of diabetic subjects without pain and 80% of the general population. 82.9% believed that higher power had the ability to change events. Of those subjects, their mean VAS was 3.6, while the mean VAS of those who had no belief was 2.7, although this difference was not significant. No correlation was found between pain levels and spiritual beliefs, although a negative correlation was revealed between income levels and spiritual beliefs (r =.027) and between education levels and pain levels (r = .030). No correlation was detected between these variables and level of compliance as determined by glycohemoglobin values. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes per se is associated with increased spirituality, which is not affected by the presence of pain or level of compliance. Further investigation as to potential variables influencing pain perception is warranted in diabetes.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Psychological Indicators, Diabetes
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.