Open AccessTrauma exposure and stress‐related disorders in African‐American women with diabetes mellitus
Author(s) -
Dixon H. Drew,
Michopoulos Vasiliki,
Gluck Rachel L.,
Mendoza Hadrian,
Munoz Adam P.,
Wilson Joseph G.,
Powers Abigail,
Schwartz Ann C.,
Umpierrez Guillermo E.,
Gillespie Charles F.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2398-9238
DOI - 10.1002/edm2.111
Subject(s) - medicine , depression (economics) , diabetes mellitus , psychopathology , psychiatry , beck depression inventory , clinical psychology , anxiety , economics , macroeconomics , endocrinology
Objective The purpose of the study was to assess demographic features, rates of trauma exposure, prevalence of post‐traumatic stress and depressive symptoms in a group of urban, low‐income, African‐American women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus. Research Design and Methods We conducted a survey of (n = 290) low‐income, African‐American women seeking care in the diabetes clinic of an urban hospital and collected data on the demographic characteristics, childhood and nonchildhood abuse trauma exposure, and the severity of post‐traumatic stress and depressive symptoms using the Post‐traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptom Scale (PSS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). In a subset of women with type 2 diabetes (n = 96), we assessed haemoglobin A1c to examine the relationship between psychopathology and glycaemic control. Results Of the overall sample, 61.7% reported exposure to trauma in their lifetime, and 30.4% and 29.3% had current PTSD and MDD, respectively. Exposure to both childhood and nonchildhood abuse trauma was associated with an increased PTSD and depressive symptom severity ( P 's < .05). PTSD diagnosis, but not depression, was associated with increased haemoglobin A1c ( P = .002). Conclusions These data document high levels of trauma exposure, PTSD and depressive symptoms in diabetic African‐American women treated in a specialty clinic of an urban hospital setting. Furthermore, these data indicate that the presence of PTSD is negatively associated with glycaemic control.