Perceived Stress and Preventive Behaviors in Patients with Diabetes during the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019

The COVID-19 outbreak has adverse effects, including stress, unhealthy lifestyles, and lack of glucose level control on diabetic patients.

This study aimed to evaluate the preventive behaviors and perceived stress levels in patients with diabetes during the outbreak of COVID-19.

This cross-sectional (analytical) study was conducted with a convenience sampling method with 427 diabetic patients (type 1 and type2) in Iran from September to December 2020. Perceived stress and preventive behaviors questionnaire was used to collect information by questionnaire sharing between diabetes-related channels and groups on Social networks available. The statistical analyses included the independent sample t-test, ANOVA, and multiple linear regression.

The majority of participants were females (66%) with type 2 diabetes (693%). The mean score of perceived stress and preventive behaviors were 31.69 ± 5.88 and 67.00 ± 8.09, respectively. The perceived stress in patients with type 2 diabetes (32.05±5.7) was higher than in type 1 (30.87±6.06). Females (67.69±7.82) were with a higher mean value in preventive behaviors than men ( 65.64±8.47). The effective predictors for perceived stress and preventive behaviors in diabetic patients were gender, occupation, and access to medicine. In conclusion, the mean scores of perceived stress and preventive behaviors were approximately high and moderate. The high perceived stress score referred to the increased stress level and the moderate preventive behaviors as health protocols adherence.Implications for Practice: The necessary measures should be taken to reduce psychological stress and enhance a healthy lifestyles for better management of diabetes during COVID-19 outbreak.