Volume 29, Issue 155, January 2025

The effect of perceived stress on glycated hemoglobin value (HbA1c) on Diabetes type 2 patients- An observational study from Lahore, Pakistan

Sara Shahid¹, Ghanwa Maqsood², Arooj Majeed², Muhammad Qasim², Memoona Arshad², Taha Yasin², Atera Afzal², Shanza Saadat², Rana Muhammad Sheraz Ali², Seerat Shahzad¹, Muhammad Zahid Iqbal^1♦

¹Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lahore University of Biological and Applied Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan
²Research Student, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lahore University of Biological and Applied Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan

^♦Corresponding Author
Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lahore University of Biological and Applied Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (type 2) is a common endocrine disease characterized by elevated blood glucose levels. Various sociodemographic, environmental factors and clinical predictors positively influence blood glucose levels in diabetics. The study investigates the link between stress levels as determined by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and HbA1c levels which is used as an indicator of long-term blood glucose control. The aim of this study is to evaluate the correlation between perceived stress and glycemic regulation in individuals diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes-mellitus. Methodology: A crosssectional observational study was conducted to evaluate the association between perceived stress and glycemic control in Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. A total of 151 patients from Lahore, Punjab were selected for this study. Glycated hemoglobin level (HbA1c) of the patients were recorded on a data collection form along with demographic information. While, the tool used to access stress levels in patients was: Perceives stress scale (PSS-10). Patients visiting endocrinology clinics were recruited in the study upon providing informed consent. Results: Majority of the patients were female (53.6%) belonging to the age group 41-50 years of age (35.8%). The average HbA1c value observed was 8.70 ±1.99 (M±SD). The study of the population showed that (57.6%) of participants experienced high stress levels while (39.1%) showed moderate stress and (3.3%) reported low stress. The respondents experiencing high stress were more susceptible to having poor HbA1c levels, indicating a significant correlation between stress and hyperglycemia (p-value<0.001). The recently diagnosed patients with the history of diabetes from past 1-2 years presented maximum stress levels (53.8%). Conclusion: The study demonstrates that the stress levels affect glycemic control in T2DM patients as the results showed a significant correlation between perceived stress levels and HbA1c, but the association of sociodemographic variables with perceived stress was not observed to be significant. The results recommends that stress management (stress management techniques or relaxation techniques) should be considered along with medical intervention for diabetic patients to achieve the desired outcome of the patients.

Keywords: Type 2 diabetes-mellitus, Perceived stress, Glycated hemoglobin, HbA1c, Endocrinology, Sociodemographic variables

Medical Science, 2025, 29, e21ms3512

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v29i155.e21ms3512

Published: 31 January 2025