Psychosocial aspects and perspectives of adult-onset type 1 diabetes: A systematic scoping review

Abstract

Aim: To map existing research on psychosocial aspects of adult-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D), including psychosocial health status, ways psychosocial aspects may affect management of T1D in everyday life, and interventions targeting management of adult-onset T1D.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycInfo. Search results were screened with predefined eligibility criteria, followed by data extraction of the included studies. Charted data were summarized in narrative and tabular form.

Results: We included 10 reports describing nine studies from the 7302 identified in the search. All studies were conducted in Europe. Participant characteristics were missing in several studies. Five of the nine studies incorporated psychosocial aspects as the main aim of the study. Limited information on psychosocial aspects was available in the remaining studies. We identified three overarching themes related to psychosocial aspects: (1) the impact of the diagnosis on everyday life, (2) the influence of psychosocial health on metabolic levels and adaptation, and (3) provision of self-management support.

Conclusions: Research focussing on psychosocial aspects of the adult-onset population is scarce. Future research should involve participants across the adult life age span and from a wider geographical area. Sociodemographic information should be collected to explore different perspectives. Further exploration of suitable outcome measures considering adults' limited experience of living with the condition is needed. This would help to better understand how psychosocial aspects may affect management of T1D in everyday life and thus enable healthcare professionals to provide appropriate support to adults with new-onset T1D.

Keywords: adult; diabetes mellitus type 1; diagnosis; psychological adaptation; psychosocial functioning; scoping review; social support.