Diabetes has been associated to affective disorders and mental health problems which complicate the management of the disease. Emotional intelligence (EI), or the ability to perceive, facilitate, understand and regulate emotions has shown to be a protective factor of emotional disorders in general population.

To evaluate the role of EI and EI training in the biological and psychological variables related to people with Type 1 and 2 diabetes.

A systematic review was conducted in PubMed and Scopus database without time limitations, for studies examining the link between diabetes and EI. A total of 11 eligible studies were selected according to the inclusion criteria.

We divided the results into four sections: 1) EI and HbA1c, 2) EI training effects, 3) Differences in EI between persons with diabetes and without diabetes, and 4) EI and psychological adjustment and well-being. The results showed negative correlations between EI and HbA1C, positive effects of EI training on quality of life, anxiety and glycaemic control, no differences in EI between people with diabetes and healthy individuals and, finally, negative correlations between EI and different psychological variables such as diabetes-related anxiety and distress, and positive correlations with quality of life, well-being and marital satisfaction.

EI appear to be a promising protective factor for biological and psychological variables in individuals with diabetes. This systematic review offers a starting point for a theoretical and practical understanding of the role played by EI in the management of diabetes. Limitation and future lines of investigations will be discussed.

No significant relationships.

The aim of this study is to assess the effect of diabetes self-management education (DSME) on lowering blood glucose level, stress, and quality of life (QoL) among female patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Thailand.

The burden of noncommunicable diseases has increased globally, and it has negatively affected the QoL of diabetic patients.

A quasi-experimental study was conducted by including 77 T2DM patients selected from 2 public health centers in Thailand. The respondents were randomly selected 38 in control group and 39 in intervention group. Pretested, piloted, and validated tool were used during this study. Knowledge on blood glucose level, stress, and QoL was measured at baseline and then compared to end line after 3 months of the intervention. The effects of intervention were estimated by regression coefficient of intervention on blood glucose level and QoL. The study was ethically approved by the Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

Baseline characteristics of both the groups were similar before the start of the intervention and there were no significant differences observed in age, education, blood sugar monitoring behavior, medical checkup, knowledge, self-care, stress, and hemoglobin HbA1c (>0.05). However, blood HbA1c, stress level, and QoL among the T2DM patients had significant changes (<0.05) after the intervention. The control group was remained same and there was no statistically significant difference reported (>0.05).

The study concluded that the designed intervention of DSME has proved effective in lowering the blood sugar level, HbA1c level, stress level, and improved QoL among T2DM patients during this limited period of time. Hence, policy-makers can replicate this intervention for diabetic patients in a similar context.

A major shift in the gender of the medical-doctor workforce is now underway, and all over the world it is expected that an average 65% of the medical workforce will be women by 2030. In addition, an aging population means that chronic diseases, such as diabetes, are becoming more prevalent and the demand for care is rising. There is growing evidence of female physicians performing better than male physicians.

Our study aimed to investigate whether any differences in diabetes process indicators are associated with gender, and/or the interaction between gender and different organizational models.

A population-based cross-sectional analysis was conducted on a large data set obtained by processing the public health administration databases of seven Italian local health units (LHUs). The seven LHUs, distributed all over the Italian peninsula in seven different regions, took part in a national project called MEDINA, with the focus on chronic disease management in primary care (PC).

A total score was calculated for the average performance in the previously listed five indicators, representing global adherence to a quality management of patients with diabetes. A multilevel analysis was applied to see how LHUs affected the outcome. A quantile regression model was also fitted.

Our study included 2287 Italian general practitioners (586 of them female) caring for a total of 2 646 059 patients. Analyzing the performance scores confirmed that female general practitioners obtained better results than males. The differences between males and females were stronger on the 25th and 75th percentiles of the score than on the median values. The interaction between gender and LHU was not significant.

Our study evidenced that female physicians perform better than males in providing PC for diabetes independently by the different organizational models. Further research to understand the reasons for these gender differences is needed.