Perceived glucose levels matter more than CGM-based data in predicting diabetes distress in type 1 or type 2 diabetes: a precision mental health approach using n-of-1 analyses

Aims/hypothesis Diabetes distress is one of the most frequent mental health issues identified in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Little is known about the role of glucose control as a potential contributor to diabetes distress and whether the subjective perception of glucose control or the objective glycaemic parameters are more important for the experience. With the emergence of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), this is a relevant question as glucose values are now visible in real-time. We employed a precision monitoring approach to analyse the independent associations of perceived and measured glucose control with diabetes distress on a daily basis. By using n -of-1 analyses, we aimed to identify individual contributors to diabetes distress per person and analyse the associations of these individual contributors with mental health at a 3 month follow-up. Methods In this prospective, observational study, perceived (hypoglycaemia/hyperglycaemia/glucose variability burden) and measured glucose control (time in hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia, CV) were assessed daily for 17 days using an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) approach with a special EMA app and CGM, respectively. Mixed-effect regression analysis was performed, with daily diabetes distress as the dependent variable and daily perceived and CGM-measured metrics of glucose control as random factors. Individual regression coefficients of daily distress with perceived and CGM-measured metrics were correlated with levels of psychosocial well-being at a 3 month follow-up. Results Data from 379 participants were analysed (50.9% type 1 diabetes; 49.6% female). Perceived glucose variability ( t =14.360; p