Stress Buffering and Glycemic Control: The Role of Coping Styles

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Abstract
Objective: To test the hypotheses that chronic psychosocial stress is associated with worse glycemic control and that coping moderates (buffers) this effect. Research Design and Methods: Subjects consisted of 105 insulin-treated adults from the Diabetes Division of Henry Ford Hospital who filled out questionnaires on stress and coping and received an HbA1 test at a clinic appointment. Six coping styles were examined, including both emotion- and problem-focused styles. Two standardized stress inventories were administered. Ineffective coping was defined as scoring below the median for stress-dampening coping styles and above the median for stress-exacerbating styles. Results: Stress was significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with higher HbA1 in all but one ineffective coping subgroup. Conversely, none of 12 correlations between stress and glycemic control was significant in the effective coping subgroups. Conclusions: Chronic psychosocial stress is associated with worse glycemic control among those who do not cope effectively with stress. Effective coping can protect individuals from the deleterious effects of stress.

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