Emilee Cornelius, Katherine Chapman, Huyen Nguyen, Madison White, Wendy A. Wolf, Caitlin Kelly

Introduction and Objective: Associations between anxiety and depression with diabetes duration are unclear in adults with T1D. Higher rates of anxiety and depression have been associated with shorter T1D duration in some studies, but with longer T1D duration in others. Therefore, we explored associations between anxiety and depression rates and symptoms with T1D duration.

Methods: Participants (≥ 18 years) from the T1D Exchange Registry (N = 1,685) completed an online survey including participant demographics, T1D characteristics, self-reported diagnosis of anxiety and/or depression, and measures of anxiety (i.e., Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionniare-7 [GAD-7]) and depressive symptoms (i.e., Patient Health Questionnaire-8 [PHQ-8]). Descriptive statistics (e.g., frequencies, means) are reported. Pearson’s correlations tested bivariate associations between T1D duration and anxiety and depression scores. Welch’s t-tests examined mean differences (MD) in T1D duration between those with self-reported diagnosis of anxiety and/or depression and between those with clinically meaningful scores (no/mild vs. moderate/severe) for the GAD-7 and PHQ-8.

Results: Many participants reported a diagnosis of anxiety (45%) and/or depression (46%). Shorter T1D duration was significantly associated with higher GAD-7 scores (r = -0.15, p<0.001). Those with a self-reported anxiety diagnosis had significantly shorter T1D duration (MD = -3.2, t(1681) = -4.0, p<0.001) compared to those with no diagnosis. Compared to those with no/mild symptoms, T1D duration was shorter in those with moderate/severe anxiety (MD = -4.1, t(696) = 4.5, p<0.001) and in those with moderate/severe depressive symptoms (MD = -2.5, t(832) = 2.8, p = 0.01).

Conclusion: Findings suggest those with shorter T1D duration reported higher anxiety and depression. Newly diagnosed individuals with T1D may benefit from additional resources to manage anxiety during their early years of living with T1D.

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