The Efficacy of an Intensive Lifestyle Modification Program on Psychosocial Outcomes among Rural Women with Prior Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Six Months Follow-Up of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Jia Guo, Qing Long, Jundi Yang, Qian Lin, James Wiley and Jyu-Lin Chen
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Jia Guo: Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China
Qing Long: Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China
Jundi Yang: Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China
Qian Lin: Department of Nutrition Science and Food Hygiene, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China
James Wiley: Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Jyu-Lin Chen: School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-10

Abstract: Women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and other health issues after delivery. They may have a lower quality of life (QoL), experience more medical-related stress, and need more support than those without it. This study aimed to examine the six-month efficacy of an intensive lifestyle modification program on perceived stress, social support, and QoL among women with prior GDM in rural China. A total of 320 women with prior GDM were randomly assigned to an intervention group ( n = 160) and a control group ( n = 160). Participants in the intervention group received an intensive lifestyle modification (ILSM) program, including a series of six biweekly face-to-face sessions and five biweekly phone sessions delivered by trained local health workers. The control group received the usual care. Data about perceived stress, social support, QoL, and HbA1c were collected at baseline, at three months, and at six-month follow-ups. Generalized estimating equation analysis was used to assess the efficacy of the intervention. There were significant improvements in the psychological domain (? = 0.479 ± 0.153, p = 0.002) and environmental domain (? = 0.462 ± 0.145, p = 0.001) of QoL over six months; there were significant group effects (? = ?0.718 ± 0.280, p = 0.010) and time effects (? = 0.453 ± 0.211, p = 0.032) in physiological domain, and there were significant group effects in the social relations domain (? = ?0.669 ± 0.321, p = 0.037). The ILSM group had a more pronounced downward trend in HbA1c than the control group (? = ?0.050 ± 0.026, p = 0.059). The ILSM program can help women with GDM improve their psychological and environmental domain of QoL. It can be recommended as a form of health promotion for improving QoL among women with prior GDM in rural primary care settings in developing countries.

Keywords: gestational diabetes mellitus; lifestyle intervention; stress; social support; quality of life (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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