PhD defence B. (Behiye) Özcan

Dissertation in short:

Diabetes is a complex disorder that involves many genetic and environmental factors and has major consequence for patients. This thesis draws attention to the complexity of the disease by presenting the results of research into topics such as diabetes distress. Diabetes distress is the emotional distress that results from living with diabetes and the burden of relentless daily self-management. International treatment guidelines recommend that patients with diabetes should be provided with individual healthcare. After all, not all patients are the same. These recommendations take account of the fact that diabetes is not only a disease with numerous physical complications, but also one with considerable psychological burden; a burden that impacts the daily lives and wellbeing of both patients and their loved ones. In this context, one of the clinical studies described in this thesis determined the prevalence of diabetes distress in several groups of ethnic minorities in the Netherlands. This study also determined whether links between ethnicity and diabetes distress can be explained by metabolic factors, lifestyle, cardiovascular risk factors, or the presence of diabetes complications. The patient population was divided into the seven ethnic groups: Caucasian, Asian, Moroccan, African, Latin-American, Turkish and Hindustani-Surinamese. The study found that diabetes patients were more likely to suffer from diabetes distress if they had a migrant background (10% to 32 %) than if they were Caucasian (6 %).