Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Stress, Cognitive-Attentional Syndrome, and Blood Sugar Indices in Patients with Type II Diabetes

Psychological problems are mainly overlooked in patients with chronic diseases.

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on stress, cognitive-attentional syndrome, and blood sugar indices in patients with type II diabetes.

In this quasi-experimental study, 40 patients with type II diabetes, referred to Birjand Diabetes Clinic in 2019 were selected via convenience sampling method. Later, subjects meeting inclusion criteria were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The former received treatment based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in eight 90-minute weekly sessions. Controls received no intervention. Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS) and glycosylated hemoglobin indices were measured for all participants before and after the intervention. The data were collected, followed by administering DASS scale developed by Lovibond and Lovibond (1995) and Wells cognitive attentional syndrome or CAS (2009) questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS 22. Univariate and multivariate analyses of covariance were also performed at a significance level of 0.05.

The participants’ mean educational level and age were (1.53 ± 2.70) and (6.03 ± 45.58), respectively. Also, the mean values of the variables CAS, stress, HBA1C, and FBS were (22.51 ± 94.09), (09.09 ± 36.30), (0.90 ± 7.34) and (29.09 ± 151.82), respectively. Also, the mean scores of stress (P = 0.002), CAS (P = 0.001), FBS (P = 0.001), and glycosylated hemoglobin (P = 0.001) indices were significantly lower in experimental compared to controls after the intervention.

In general, ACT effectively reduced stress, cognitive attention syndrome, and blood sugar indices among patients with type II diabetes. Experts should consider formality of this training in diabetes care treatment programs.