The Impact of Stressful Life Events on the Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in U.S. Adults From the Health and Retirement Study

Betsy E Smith, Toni P Miles, Jennifer Elkins, Jennifer L Barkin, Mark H Ebell, Amara E Ezeamama and Deborah Carr

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2020, vol. 75, issue 3, 640-649

Abstract: ObjectivesWe evaluated the association between cumulative stressful life events (SLE) and type of stress (lifetime vs recent) and incident diabetes (Type 2 diabetes mellitus [T2DM]) in middle-aged U.S. adults.MethodsData from the 2006–2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were analyzed (n = 7,956). Stress-related differences in age at T2DM diagnosis were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models.ResultsThe adjusted risk of T2DM significantly increased by 6% per unit increase in cumulative SLE (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03, 1.11), by 5% per unit increase in lifetime stress (95% CI = 1.00, 1.09), and by 23% per unit increase in recent stress (95% CI = 1.12, 1.36). Each level of cumulative SLE (1, 2, 3, and ≥4 events) and recent stress (1 and ≥2 events) compared to no stress was significantly associated with an increased risk of T2DM. Each level of lifetime stress compared to no stress was significantly associated with an elevated risk of T2DM except for 3 events.DiscussionCumulative SLE and type of stress were associated with incident T2DM in middle-aged adults. Reducing the direct effect of stress with management interventions may reduce the indirect effect of developing T2DM and warrants further investigation.

Keywords: Chronic conditions; Cumulative lifetime adversity; Psychosocial stress characteristics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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