Abstract
Aims: To analyze trajectories of psychosocial health among people with diabetes during the first three months of lockdowns and reopenings of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark.
Methods: An online longitudinal survey of 2430 people with diabetes consisting of six questionnaire waves (Q1 Q6) was conducted between March 19 and June 25, 2020. Psychosocial outcomes assessed were COVID-19 worries, quality of life, feelings of social isolation, psychological distress, diabetes distress, anxiety, and general and diabetes-specific loneliness. Trajectories in psychosocial health were analyzed with linear multilevel mixed-effects models. Subgroup analyses were conducted.
Results: In total, 1366 (56%) people with diabetes responded to the first questionnaire. COVID-19 worries, feelings of social isolation, psychological distress, anxiety and general loneliness had all improved at Q6 compared to Q1 (p <0.001). In general, improvements in psychosocial health started after the first reopening phase (April 15); however, general loneliness increased up to the first reopening phase (p
Conclusions: Psychosocial health in people with diabetes improved following reopening of society. However, increases in loneliness and decreases in quality of life during lockdown indicates a potential need to mitigate the acute effects of such policies.
(c) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 107858 |
| Journal | Journal of Diabetes and its Complications |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| ISSN | 1056-8727 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2021 |
Keywords
- COVID-19
- Diabetes mellitus
- Psychosocial factors
- Quality of life
- Social isolation
- Loneliness