The effect of anxiety and depression levels of diabetic patients on acceptance of and adherence to insulin therapy

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is a very common chronic disease worldwide. Today, with the increase in obesity, its' prevalence is increasing and becoming a pandemic. As with all chronic diseases, diabetes early diagnosis, appropriate treatment and patient compliance are very important for the successful treatment of diabetes mellitus. Insulin injection, which is an important step in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, can often be insufficient due to the difficulty of patients accepting the treatment and injection. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of anxiety, depression and injection fears of individuals who refuse insulin injection therapy which is an important step of treatment. The cross- sectional study was conducted between July 2022 and March 2023. A total of 160 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus and prescribed insulin therapy by the physician were included in the study. The study population was divided into two groups as 80 patients who accepted insulin therapy and 80 patients who refused. Beck depression inventory, Beck anxiety inventory, Morisky-8 Medication Adherence Scale and Diabetes Fear of Injecting and Self-Testing Questionnaire Form were applied to all participants. Beck depression score (p=0.002) in patients who refused insulin therapy, Beck anxiety score (p<0.001) and fear of injecting and self-testing scale scores (p<0.001) were higher according as those who accepted treatment. A negative significant correlation was found between the Beck depression scale score (r:-0.266, p=0.017) and the fear of injection and testing scale (r:-0.309, p=0.005) and the morinsky scale score. The present study showed that anxiety and depression and fear of injections make it difficult to accept insulin therapy and negatively affect adherence to diabetes treatment in type 2 diabetic individuals. For the success of insulin therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus, we recommend taking into account the psychosocial status of the individual and making necessary interventions.