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2025
Journal Article
Title
Daily life stress is linked to increased glucose levels in individuals with insulin resistance: a real-world assessment
Abstract
Aims/hypothesis: The bidirectional relationship between stress and diabetes is well documented, with chronic stress increasing the risk of diabetes onset and stress adversely affecting clinical outcomes in individuals with diabetes. However, the impact of daily life stress on glucose levels in insulin-resistant individuals, who are at risk of type 2 diabetes, remains unclear.
Methods: The analysis included 116 participants (62 insulin-resistant [IR] and 54 insulin-sensitive [IS] participants) aged 18-78 years. Insulin resistance was defined by a HOMA-IR index above 2.5. Participants completed three standardised baseline questionnaires to assess their affective state. Using ambulatory assessment, daily life stress and affect were assessed for 3 days while continuous glucose monitoring was conducted for 7 days. Linear mixed-effect models were applied to estimate effects between parameters.
Results: While perceived daily stress was not different between individuals with insulin resistance and control participants, we found a significant positive effect of stress on blood glucose level (β^=6.24×10-3, p=0.005) in IR individuals, but not in IS control participants. Additionally, stress levels predicted negative affect in both IR (β^=-0.08, p<0.001) and IS (β^=-0.08, p<0.001) participants.
Conclusions/interpretation: Daily life stress contributes to a significant increase in glucose levels in IR individuals, highlighting the need for tailored interventions to mitigate further deterioration and potential progression to type 2 diabetes. These results underscore the importance of integrating stress management strategies into diabetes prevention in at-risk populations. Ambulatory assessments can serve as monitoring tools for identifying at-risk individuals and for testing the efficacy of targeted interventions.
Clinical trial registration: Registered under https://drks.de/register/de, identifier no. DRKS00022774
Methods: The analysis included 116 participants (62 insulin-resistant [IR] and 54 insulin-sensitive [IS] participants) aged 18-78 years. Insulin resistance was defined by a HOMA-IR index above 2.5. Participants completed three standardised baseline questionnaires to assess their affective state. Using ambulatory assessment, daily life stress and affect were assessed for 3 days while continuous glucose monitoring was conducted for 7 days. Linear mixed-effect models were applied to estimate effects between parameters.
Results: While perceived daily stress was not different between individuals with insulin resistance and control participants, we found a significant positive effect of stress on blood glucose level (β^=6.24×10-3, p=0.005) in IR individuals, but not in IS control participants. Additionally, stress levels predicted negative affect in both IR (β^=-0.08, p<0.001) and IS (β^=-0.08, p<0.001) participants.
Conclusions/interpretation: Daily life stress contributes to a significant increase in glucose levels in IR individuals, highlighting the need for tailored interventions to mitigate further deterioration and potential progression to type 2 diabetes. These results underscore the importance of integrating stress management strategies into diabetes prevention in at-risk populations. Ambulatory assessments can serve as monitoring tools for identifying at-risk individuals and for testing the efficacy of targeted interventions.
Clinical trial registration: Registered under https://drks.de/register/de, identifier no. DRKS00022774
Author(s)