Introduction.

Low adherence to diabetes self-care affects glycemic control and increases the risk of diabetes complications and premature deaths. Studies from the United States have found a relationship between distress and adherence to self-care in patients with diabetes; however, there is a lack of research on distress and its association with self-care in Mexican patients with diabetes.

Objective.

To evaluate the prevalence and association of distress with low self-care in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Method.

A cross-sectional study was carried out in two family medicine clinics of the Mexican Institute of Social Security in Mexico City. Four hundred eighty-nine type 2 diabetic patients ≥ 19 years of age participated. The statistical analysis incorporated a multiple Poisson regression.

Results.

Of the patients 18.8% had distress, 44.8% had low adherence to medication, 43.8% had low adherence to regular physical exercise, 82.4% did not consume the recommended amount of vegetables and 51.1% consumed foods with high sugar content. The distress was associated with poor adherence to medication and lack of regular physical exercise.

Discussion and conclusion.

The high prevalence of distress in type 2 diabetic patients in comparison with the general population reveals the importance of distress screening and health care at family practice clinics

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