Stress and Chronic Illness: The Case of Diabetes

Full text for this resource is not available from the Research Repository.

Morris, Tony, Moore, Melissa Louise and Morris, Felicity Anne (2011) Stress and Chronic Illness: The Case of Diabetes. Journal of Adult Development, 18 (2). pp. 70-80. ISSN 1068-0667

Abstract

Globally, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most prevalent chronic illnesses. Managing T2DM is a major challenge now affecting the lives of around 200 million people. Even when medication, diet, and physical activity regimens are maintained, blood sugar levels might not be effectively controlled because stress triggers the release of sugar into the blood. This makes the management of stress an important adjunct to the treatment of T2DM. Stress includes both life stress, the major issues that people face in their lives, such as job loss, divorce, or death of a loved one, and daily hassles, smaller everyday problems, such as deadlines for work, traffic hold-ups, or family disagreements. The stress levels created by these events are exacerbated by the stress created by the demands of managing diabetes. In this paper, we first examine the evidence for the relationship between stress and poor blood sugar control in people with T2DM. Then, we consider research that has examined the impact of various stress management strategies on blood sugar level. Finally, we discuss some promising psychological techniques for managing stress that could be helpful for people with diabetes or pre-diabetes. We note the double benefit of physical activity, which directly assists in the metabolism of sugar from the blood and indirectly reduces acute stress and chronic stress reactivity, thus providing a buffer against the effects of stress for people with T2DM.

Dimensions Badge

Altmetric Badge

Additional Information

From the issue entitled "Special Issue on Stress"

Item type Article
URI https://vuir.vu.edu.au/id/eprint/9130
DOI 10.1007/s10804-010-9118-3
Official URL http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10804-...
Subjects Historical > FOR Classification > 1106 Human Movement and Sports Science
Historical > Faculty/School/Research Centre/Department > School of Sport and Exercise Science
Historical > SEO Classification > 9501 Arts and Leisure
Historical > Faculty/School/Research Centre/Department > Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL)
Keywords ResPubID23595, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, stress, blood sugar, stress management, physical activity
Citations in Scopus 28 - View on Scopus
Download/View statistics View download statistics for this item

Search Google Scholar

Repository staff login