FAMILY FUNCTIONING AMONG PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS IN PRIMARY CARE IN TURKEY

Introduction: To examine the effects of family functioning on glycaemic control among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in primary health care. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients with T2DM and age and sex matched healthy controls completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Family Assessment Device (FAD). Some sociodemographic and diabetes related clinical data were collected by a questionnaire. Laboratory test were conducted among participants.The participants were consecutively sampled from the Family Medicine outpatient clinic in Bezmialem Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. Results: A total of 660 consecutive patients and 660 healthy controls from the Family Medicine outpatient clinic were interviewed. According to the obtained data BDI, STAI and affective involvement (AI), behavioural control (BC); communication (CM), general, functioning (GF), problem solving (PS) and roles (RL) scores were found statistically significantly higher in the case group compared to the control group. Conclusion: In the primary health care setting in Turkey, family support was significantly associated with better management of diabetes and, thus a better glycaemic control.