Stress is associated with higher blood glucose in patients with diabetes, but the strength of this association varies considerably across patients. The current daily diary study of 129 patients with type 2 diabetes examined whether individual differences in emotional stress reactivity were associated with fasting blood glucose and whether emotional support provided by spouses moderated this association. Greater stress reactivity was related to greater variability in patients’ fasting glucose readings and, among patients with less support, to higher fasting glucose levels. Investigating individual differences in emotional stress reactivity may help to clarify the role of stress in blood glucose control.
American Diabetes Association (2014) Standards of medical care in diabetes—2014. Diabetes Care37: S14–S80.
3.
ArmeliSToddMMohrC (2005) A daily process approach to individual differences in stress-related alcohol use. Journal of Personality73: 1657–1686.
4.
BeverlyEAMillerCKWrayLA (2008) Spousal support and food-related behavior change in middle-aged and older adults living with type 2 diabetes. Health Education & Behavior35: 707–720.
5.
BolgerNAmarelD (2007) Effects of social support visibility on adjustment to stress: Experimental evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology92: 458–475.
6.
BolgerNZuckermanA (1995) A framework for studying personality in the stress process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology69: 890–902.
7.
BolgerNDelongisAKesslerRC. (1989) Effects of daily stress on negative mood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology57: 808–818.
8.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014) National Diabetes Statistics Report: Estimates of Diabetes and Its Burden in the United States, 2014. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services.
9.
CharlesSTCarstensenLL (2010) Social and emotional aging. Annual Review of Psychology61: 383–409.
10.
CoxDJGonder-FrederickL (1992) Major developments in behavioral diabetes research. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology60: 628–638.
11.
CoyneJCWortmanCBLehmanDR (1988) The other side of support: Emotional overinvolvement and miscarried helping. In: GottliebBH (ed.) Marshaling Social Support: Formats, Processes, and Effects. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp. 305–330.
12.
DeVriesJH (2013) Glucose variability: Where it is important and how to measure it. Diabetes62: 1405–1408.
13.
GallantMPSpitzeGDProhaskaTR (2007) Help or hindrance? How family and friends influence chronic illness self-management among older adults. Research on Aging29: 375–409.
14.
GibsonEL (2012) The psychobiology of comfort eating: Implications for neuropharmacological interventions. Behavioural Pharmacology23: 442–460.
15.
GlasgowREToobertDJGilletteCD (2001) Psychosocial barriers to diabetes self-management and quality of life. Diabetes Spectrum14: 33–41.
16.
GriffithLSFieldBJLustmanPJ (1990) Life stress and social support in diabetes: Association with glycemic control. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine20: 365–372.
17.
HaggerMSWoodCStiffC. (2009) The strength model of self-regulation failure and health-related behaviour. Health Psychology Review3: 208–238.
18.
HeathertonTFWagnerDD (2011) Cognitive neuroscience of self-regulation failure. Trends in Cognitive Sciences15: 132–139.
19.
HirakawaYArimaHZoungasS. (2014) Impact of visit-to-visit glycemic variability on the risks of macrovascular and microvascular events and all-cause mortality in type 2 diabetes: The ADVANCE trial. Diabetes Care37: 2359–2365.
20.
KramerJLedolterJManosGN. (2000) Stress and metabolic control in diabetes mellitus: Methodological issues and an illustrative analysis. Annals of Behavioral Medicine22: 17–28.
21.
LinCCAndersonRMHagertyBM. (2008) Diabetes self-management experience: A focus group study of Taiwanese patients with type 2 diabetes. Journal of Clinical Nursing17: 34–42.
22.
McClureMJXuJHCrawJP. (2014) Understanding the costs of support transactions in daily life. Journal of Personality82: 563–574.
23.
MartireLMStephensMAPDruleyJA. (2002) Negative reactions to received spousal care: Predictors and consequences of miscarried support. Health Psychology21: 167–176.
24.
MillerDBrownJL (2005) Marital interactions in the process of dietary change for type 2 diabetes. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior37: 226–234.
25.
MorrisTMooreMMorrisF (2011) Stress and chronic illness: The case of diabetes. Journal of Adult Development18: 1–11.
26.
MroczekDKAlmeidaDM (2004) The effect of daily stress, personality, and age on daily negative affect. Journal of Personality72: 355–378.
27.
NesselroadeJ (1988) Sampling and generalizability: Adult development and aging research issues examined within the general methodological framework of selection. In: SchaieKCampbellRMeredithW. (eds) Methodological Issues in Aging Research. New York: Springer, pp. 13–42.
28.
NortonR (1983) Measuring marital quality: A critical look at the dependent variable. Journal of Marriage and the Family45: 141–151.
29.
OgdenCLCarrollMDKitBK. (2012) Prevalence of obesity in the United States, 2009–2010. JAMA307: 491–497.
30.
PiazzaJRCharlesSTSliwinskiMJ. (2013) Affective reactivity to daily stressors and long-term risk of reporting a chronic physical health condition. Annals of Behavioral Medicine45: 110–120.
31.
PolonskyWHAndersonBJLohrerPA. (1995) Assessment of diabetes-related distress. Diabetes Care18: 754–760.
32.
RadloffLS (1977) The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement1: 385–401.
33.
RaudenbushSWByrkAS (1992) Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
34.
ReinhardtJPBoernerKHorowitzA (2006) Good to have but not to use: Differential impact of perceived and received support on well-being. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships23: 117–129.
35.
RiaziAPickupJBradleyC (2004) Daily stress and glycaemic control in type 1 diabetes: Individual differences in magnitude, direction, and timing of stress-reactivity. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice66: 237–244.
36.
SemmerNMcGrathJBeehrT (2004) Conceptual issues in research on stress and health. In: CooperC (ed.) Handbook of Stress, Medicine and Health (2nd edn). New York: CRC Press, pp. 1–45.
37.
SiegelaarSEHollemanFHoekstraJB. (2010) Glucose variability; Does it matter?Endocrine Reviews31: 171–182.
38.
SkaffMMMullanJTAlmeidaDM. (2009) Daily negative mood affects fasting glucose in type 2 diabetes. Health Psychology28: 265–272.
39.
SliwinskiMJAlmeidaDMSmythJ. (2009) Intraindividual change and variability in daily stress processes: Findings from two measurement-burst diary studies. Psychology and Aging24: 828–840.
40.
SooHLamS (2009) Stress management training in diabetes mellitus. Journal of Health Psychology14: 933–943.
41.
StephensMAPFranksMMRookKS. (2013) Spouses’ attempts to regulate day-to-day dietary adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes. Health Psychology32: 1029–1037.
42.
SurwitRSSchneiderMS (1993) Role of stress in the etiology and treatment of diabetes mellitus. Psychosomatic Medicine55: 380–393.
43.
ThoitsPA (2010) Stress and health: Major findings and policy implications. Journal of Health and Social Behavior51: S41–S53.
44.
TomiyamaAJDallmanMFEpelES (2011) Comfort food is comforting to those most stressed: Evidence of the chronic stress response network in high stress women. Psychoneuroendocrinology36: 1513–1519.
45.
ToobertDJHampsonSEGlasgowRE (2000) The summary of diabetes self-care activities measure: Results from 7 studies and a revised scale. Diabetes Care23: 943–950.
46.
TorimotoKOkadaYMoriH. (2013) Relationship between fluctuations in glucose levels measured by continuous glucose monitoring and vascular endothelial dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Cardiovascular Diabetology12: 1.
47.
WagnerJT (2007) Coping with diabetes: Psychological determinants of diabetes outcomes. In: MartzELLivnehH (eds) Coping with Chronic Illness and Disability: Theoretical, Empirical, and Clinical Aspects. New York: Springer, pp. 215–239.
48.
WatsonDClarkLATellegenA (1988) Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology54: 1063–1070.
49.
WoerleHJNeumannCZschauS. (2007) Impact of fasting and postprandial glycemia on overall glycemic control in type 2 diabetes: Importance of postprandial glycemia to achieve target HbA1c levels. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice77: 280–285.
