Cognitive and emotional pathways to diabetes distress: a structural equation and latent profile analysis

Diabetes distress is a common and clinically significant condition linked to the daily demands of diabetes management, affecting up to 36% of individuals with type 2 diabetes and associated with poor outcomes. A study investigated the cognitive and emotional mechanisms underlying this distress in 438 adults with diabetes in Saudi Arabia. Findings showed that pain catastrophizing (β = 0.30) and emotional representations of illness (β = 0.51) were positively associated with diabetes distress. Pain catastrophizing had a strong total effect on distress (β = 0.70) and an indirect effect through emotional representations (β = 0.34). The structural equation model explained 67% of the variance in diabetes distress. Three patient profiles were identified: low burden, moderate distress, and high burden. Higher burden was associated with longer disease duration and complications, while higher education reduced the risk.