The most common concordant comorbidity was hypertension while depression was the most common discordant condition .
Adherence to medications was the most frequent diabetes self-care behavior reported and tended to be higher among concordant comorbidities .
The findings showed mixed results concerning the effect of some concordant comorbidities such as hypertension , hyperlipidemia , retinopathy , and heart failure on diabetes self-care behaviors .
But , there is agreement across studies that diabetes-discordant comorbidities have a more detrimental effect on self-care behaviors .
Conclusions : Concordant comorbidities may improve diabetes self-care , but the evidence is inconclusive .
Background : Most patients with Type 2 diabetes ( T2D ) have high number of comorbid chronic conditions that can affect their self-care abilities .
Guidelines for diabetes self-care behaviors are disease specific with little attention given to managing T2D with other comorbidities .
Identifying comorbidities that either improve or potentially diminish the individual 's capacity to perform effective self-care behaviors is essential to enhance clinical outcomes .
One such framework conceptualizes comorbidities as concordant or discordant with diabetes pathophysiological pathways and care goals .
Objective : The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the role of diabetes-concordant and discordant chronic conditions on the performance of self-care behaviors in adults with T2D .
Barriers to self-management of diabetes: a qualitative study among low-income minority diabetics.
OBJECTIVES Diabetes self-management is a key element in the overall management of diabetes . Identifying barriers to disease self-management is a critical step in achieving optimal health outcomes . Our goal was to explore patients ' perceptions about barriers to self-management of diabetes that could possibly help explain poor health outcomes among minority patients . STUDY DESIGN Four focus groups were conducted among 31 predominately African American patients with diabetes who were enrolled in the Baltimore Cardiovascular Partnership Study , a NIH-funded multiyear prospect i ve partnership study . The topic guide consisted of a series of open-ended questions about knowledge of current health status , medication use , continuity of care , blood glucose level and nutrition . RESULTS The focus groups confirmed that previously reported barriers to self-management persisted and identified new concerns that could be associated with poor health outcomes among minority patients with diabetes .  Attitudes , perceptions and behaviors surrounding diabetes and self-management of the condition did vary across individuals , however , the variation appeared to reflect the individual 's knowledge and opinions rather than patient 's age , sex , or culture . The primary barrier to diabetes self-management result ed from lack of knowledge of target blood glucose and blood pressure . Several participants found some of the health information to be quite confusing . CONCLUSIONS Diabetes is a major public health concern and the lack of awareness of target blood glucose and blood pressure further complicates the problem . The limited health literacy seen in this study could help explain several of the barriers to self-management . The barriers to self-management identified in this qualitative study are amenable to intervention that could improve health outcomes
The most common concordant comorbidity was hypertension while depression was the most common discordant condition .
Adherence to medications was the most frequent diabetes self-care behavior reported and tended to be higher among concordant comorbidities .
The findings showed mixed results concerning the effect of some concordant comorbidities such as hypertension , hyperlipidemia , retinopathy , and heart failure on diabetes self-care behaviors .
But , there is agreement across studies that diabetes-discordant comorbidities have a more detrimental effect on self-care behaviors .
Conclusions : Concordant comorbidities may improve diabetes self-care , but the evidence is inconclusive .
Background : Most patients with Type 2 diabetes ( T2D ) have high number of comorbid chronic conditions that can affect their self-care abilities .
Guidelines for diabetes self-care behaviors are disease specific with little attention given to managing T2D with other comorbidities .
Identifying comorbidities that either improve or potentially diminish the individual 's capacity to perform effective self-care behaviors is essential to enhance clinical outcomes .
One such framework conceptualizes comorbidities as concordant or discordant with diabetes pathophysiological pathways and care goals .
Objective : The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the role of diabetes-concordant and discordant chronic conditions on the performance of self-care behaviors in adults with T2D .