The Relationship Between Mindfulness, Depression, Diabetes Self-Care, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

In this cross-sectional study, we examined the relationships between dispositional mindfulness, depression, diabetes self-care, and health-related quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes. Seventy-five participants (mean age=63.4, SD=10.2) completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities, and the Short-Form-12v2 Health Survey. We used correlational analyses and hierarchical regression analyses. Mindfulness was not correlated with diabetes self-care. However, mindfulness was negatively correlated with depression and positively correlated with mental healthrelated quality of life. In a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, acting with awareness, nonjudging of inner experience, and nonreactivity to inner experience were significant predictors of lower depression scores and better mental health-related quality of life scores after controlling for age and medical comorbidities. Dispositional mindfulness and, in particular, the ability to accept and respond to moment-to-moment experiences in a nonreactive way is associated with better mental health in type 2 diabetes. Longitudinal studies linking changes in various mindfulness facets over time, with and without training, to changes in diabetes outcomes are needed to further understand the role of mindfulness in this population.