A survey of clinical physician's perceptions of stigma and advocacy in patients with type 2 diabetes in Kanagawa, Japan.

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: To investigate the recognition status of stigma/advocacy in patients with type 2 diabetes in clinical practice settings. METHOD: A questionnaire survey on stigma/advocacy of patients with diabetes was carried out for members of the Kanagawa Physicians Association in July 2021. RESULTS: The respondents consisted of 33 (16.6%) physicians specializing in diabetes (the D group) and 166 (83.4%) non-specialists (the ND group). 100% of the D group and 48.8% of the ND group knew that patients may be prejudiced or discriminated against because of diabetes. In the question of whether they know the terms 'stigma' and 'advocacy', 'know' was 97.0% and 94.0% in the D group, compared with 45.8% and 36.7% in the ND group, respectively. 97.0% of the D group and 19.9% of the ND group know the advocacy activities of the Japanese Diabetes Society (JDS) and the Japan Association for Diabetes Education (JADEC). The specific contents of the stigma were often unknown or never experienced in the ND group. A free description of the strategy for reducing or eliminating stigma was analyzed by text mining. 'Giving consideration to the patients' feelings', 'Commitment to the problem', and 'Dialogue' were frequent, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The clinician's understanding of stigma/advocacy associated with having diabetes was insufficient, and activities that alert clinicians to stigma/advocacy, especially those in the ND group, was a theme to be addressed. More awareness-raising activities for stigma/advocacy will lead to better treatment and a better quality of life for patients with diabetes.

Multinational Observational Study to Understand Insulin Treatment Intensification: Japanese Subgroup Analysis of the MOSAIc Study.

INTRODUCTION: MOSAIc was a multinational, non-interventional, prospective, observational cohort study designed to provide an understanding of the specific challenges associated with intensification of initial insulin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We present a sub-analysis of Japanese patients from MOSAIc, with data analyzed longitudinally over 2 years, to provide insight on how T2DM treatment is intensified. METHODS: Japanese patients with T2DM receiving any insulin therapy for at least 3 months were eligible for study inclusion. Baseline and clinical data were collected during an initial baseline visit and during four subsequent prospective visit windows (within ± 3 months) at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Treatment intensification was defined as addition of new insulin, increase in insulin dosage (1-unit change or 10% compared with the previous visit), increase in insulin injection frequency, and/or addition of non-insulin antihyperglycemic agents. RESULTS: Of 116 Japanese patients who completed the study, 50.0% (n = 58) received treatment intensification. Baseline characteristics of patients with treatment intensification included a longer duration of diabetes, higher incidence of baseline microvascular complications, and higher HbA1c compared to those without intensification. There was no significant difference in HbA1c change from baseline between the two groups at any post-baseline visit. Insulin intensification accounted for 61.2% of treatment changes, with non-insulin-related intensification accounting for 36.2% of treatment changes. An increase in insulin dose was the most frequent treatment change (51.7%), followed by the addition of new insulin (22.4%), and an increase in insulin injection frequency (6.9%). CONCLUSION: Real-world data from Japanese patients with T2DM who received treatment intensification showed that an increase in insulin dose and the addition of new insulin were the most frequent treatment intensification methods. HbA1c was maintained through 2 years of treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01400971, ClinicalTrials.gov.

Reliability and validity of revised and short form versions of diabetes diet-related quality of life scale.

OBJECTIVE: To develop both a revised version of the Diabetes Diet-Related Quality of Life (DDRQOL-R) scale that can be applied to patients with nephropathy and a short form of the DDRQOL-R. METHOD: A total of 184 outpatients with type 2 diabetes were asked to complete the self-administered DDRQOL-R scale to confirm its psychometric properties. A short-form version was developed, based on two methods: the result of the developed DDRQOL-R scale and consensus using the Delphi method among medical experts. RESULTS: Correlations were generally strong between the DDRQOL-R factors extracted by factor analysis and each SF-36 subscale. Cronbach's α coefficients were at least 0.7, and intraclass correlation coefficients were between 0.59 and 0.78. The nine items that showed high factor loadings were also assessed as important by the medical experts and were selected for the short form of the scale. The reliability and validity of the short form were found to be similar to those of the DDRQOL-R scale. DISCUSSION: Our findings indicate that the DDRQOL-R scale and its short form have acceptable reliability and validity. The revised version is highly versatile, and the short form can be conveniently administered.

Cross-National Variation in Glycemic Control and Diabetes-Related Distress Among East Asian Patients Using Insulin: Results from the MOSAIc Study.

INTRODUCTION: Guidelines recommend insulin progression for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with inadequate glycemic control. The Multinational Observational Study Assessing Insulin use (MOSAIc [ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT01400971]) study is a 2-year observational study, investigating factors that influence insulin progression in T2D patients. In this first of two reports, we describe baseline clinical and psychosocial characteristics of Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean patients who participated in MOSAIc. Insulin treatment, factors affecting progression, and outcomes will be reported separately. METHODS: Patients with T2D using insulin for ≥3 months were eligible. Baseline demographic, clinical, and psychosocial data were collected from patients. Quality of life instruments, including the Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS), were used to assess patient's concerns about disease management, support, and emotional burden. The association between the DDS and the selected covariates was also assessed. RESULTS: A total of 373 patients in China, 157 in Japan, and 141 in South Korea were enrolled from July 2011 to July 2013. Mean ± standard deviation duration (years) of T2D differed across countries (China 11.4 ± 7.5; Japan 13.8 ± 8.7; South Korea 15.7 ± 8.8; P < 0.0001). Japanese patients used more noninsulin anti-hyperglycemic agents than did Chinese or South Korean patients (P < 0.0001). Exclusive use of basal insulin was most common in Japan and South Korea compared with China, whereas approximately 66.8% of Chinese patients used mixed insulin. Covariates associated with the DDS were younger age [P = 0.044 (Japan)], higher incidence of monthly hypoglycemia [P = 0.036 [China]; P = 0.021 (South Korea)], and male gender [P = 0.037 (South Korea)]. CONCLUSIONS: There were significant differences amongst East Asian patients with T2D treated with insulin, including in quality of life scores. Results from the MOSAIc longitudinal analyses will further investigate trends of insulin intensification and barriers to insulin progression. FUNDING: Eli Lilly and Company.