How Men Cope with Diabetes

A ten-year study of gender differences in attitudes toward diabetes at the Johns Hopkins Diabetes Center found that men tended to have more positive attitudes toward and greater acceptance of their diabetes than do women with the disease.

Accordingly, they also tended to rate their quality of life higher. The study also found that men were more accepting of their treatment regimen, and were less likely to miss work or leisure activities due to their diabetes.

Perhaps reflecting traditional “woman as caretaker” gender roles, men with diabetes were also satisfied with the level of emotional support they received from their wives or partners, who were more likely to accompany them to appointments and diabetes education classes than were male partners or husbands of women with diabetes.

Fact

According to the ADA, amputation rates are 1.4 to 2.7 times higher in men than in women. However, with proper preventive foot care and wound treatment, the risk drops dramatically.

Interestingly, while men with diabetes did not miss work or leisure activities, their wives were more likely to have to take time off attributed to their husband's disease, yet these women reported feeling less anxious about the long-term impact of the disease on their family than did the husbands of women with diabetes.

Men in this study also reported more control over their diabetes in terms of lower A1C levels, better self-reported nutritional care and insulin adherence, and fewer complications than women.

Essential

When things aren't going well with diabetes management, some men can take it as a sign of personal failure, and the resulting stress can make the situation worse. Think of erratic blood glucose levels as a challenge rather than a fault. Use your health care team and your support system to figure out the mystery.

Men and Stress Management

But what about when things don't go right? Problems with erratic blood glucose levels and elusive control can cause stress levels to climb. This leads to a vicious circle of control issues, as high stress produces high glucose levels, high blood pressure, and further anxiety about your ability to manage your disease.

Studies have proved that stress management training can improve long-term blood glucose control, thus reducing your risk of complications. They have also demonstrated that daily practice of stress management techniques by men with heart disease can slash their risk of cardiovascular incidents like surgery and heart attack in comparison with those who used exercise or standard therapy (medication and monitoring).