Comparative Study of the Effect of Two Intervention Methods of Group Therapy Based on Acceptance and Commitment and Group Intervention of Emotional Regulation on Glycosylated Hemoglobin and Quality of Life in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Due to the role of psychological problems in the development and maintenance of chronic diseases such as diabetes, the investigating and implementation of effective interventions in patients is a necessity of current research; Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effect of group intervention therapy based on acceptance and commitment and group intervention of emotional regulation on glycosylated hemoglobin and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes.

In this quasi-experimental study with pre- and post-test, follow up design with a control group, 45 cases were selected among diabetic patients referred to the Iranian Diabetes Prevention and Control Association in the second half of 2020. The participants selected by convenience sampling method and divided randomly in three groups of control (n=15), acceptance and commitment-based therapy (n=15) and emotional regulation intervention (n=15). Participants completed standard diabetic quality of life questionnaires before and after the intervention and three months after, and their serum glycosylated hemoglobin levels were recorded in these three time frames. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS statistical software using repeated measures analysis of variance.

The results showed that commitment and acceptance therapy and  emotional regulation were effective in improving of quality of life and reducing glycosylated hemoglobin levels in participants (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the two intervention groups in effectiveness on glycosylated hemoglobin (p=0.99). However, the effectiveness of commitment-based and acceptance therapy on quality of life was higher than the emotional regulation intervention (p<0.05).

The results showed that emotional regulation and commitment and acceptance based treatments have increased patientschr('39') quality of life and decreased glycosylated hemoglobin levels. Therefore, it is suggested that in order to improve the quality of life of patients and reduce the level of glycosylated hemoglobin, along with the usual educational and medical methods, emotional regulation interventions and treatment based on acceptance and commitment to be used according to the therapeutic goal.