Eureka! Institutional Repository

Objective: To investigate potential differences in disease burden perception between patients with Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 and their treating physicians. Method: The study is an observational study. One hundred twenty six patients with diabetes mellitus type 2, from 15 private clinics in Northern Greece participated. There were no limitations regarding disease duration, glycemic control and therapeutic management. Patients and their physicians fulfilled the PAID questionnaire (Problems Areas in Diabetes), which was specifically designed to assess the emotional burden of people with diabetes mellitus. Completed questionnaires were collected between March and June 2016 and statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS package of IBM (v.20) Results: Differences in disease burden perception between patients with Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 and their treating physicians were observed in the majority of the questions answered. In general, healthcare professionals are more sensitive regarding the burden of diabetes compared to their patients. In particular, they believe that meal schedule and dietary discomfort are very important issues, to a degree much bigger than the patients actually think. Similar results were emerged in the fields of sentiment handling, such as anger and depression, and family support. On the other hand, the perception between patients and physicians regarding to diabetes targets, to correlation between diabetes and emotional status and to successful management of diabetes complications, was almost identical. Conclusion: The study showed significant differences, patients with Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 and their treating physicians, especially regarding the emotional burden of the disease, as well as the field of social support and issues around nutrition. The improvement of communication is mandatory in order to minimize the existing gap. Further studies are needed in order to clarify in depth the existing situation.