We Have a Winner
Diabetic Investor had thought we’d had seen just about everything when it came to studies that examined the relationship between various body types and diabetes. In a previous email alert Diabetic Investor half jokingly stated that it wouldn’t surprise us if some research group was conducting a study that examined the relationship between breathing and diabetes. After all we had seen such ground-breaking studies examining the relationship between a woman’s breast size and how people who nap are at greater risk of developing diabetes, so why not examine how breathing is related to diabetes.
However, these studies don’t even come close to the latest ground-breaking research that was published in the most recent edition of Diabetes Care. In an article called “Relationship Styles and Mortality in Patients With Diabetes” the authors concluded; “In a large sample of adult patients with diabetes, a lower propensity to reach out to others is associated with higher mortality over 5 years. Further research is needed to examine possible mechanisms for this relationship and to develop appropriate interventions.”
According to the authors the objective of the study was; “Prior research has shown that less social support is associated with increased mortality in individuals with chronic illnesses. We set out to determine whether lower propensity to seek support as indicated by relationship style, based on attachment theory, is associated with mortality in patients with diabetes.”
The authors also stated; “Relationship style was assessed at baseline. Patients with a greater propensity to seek support were classified as having an interactive relationship style and those less inclined to seek support as having an independent relationship style.” This seems to be a politically correct way of stating that patients with a shy personality are at greater risk than those who have a more outgoing personality.
So if we have this correct, patients with diabetes not only have to worry about whether their glucose monitors are accurate or if the drugs they take could cause adverse cardiovascular events they must know be concerned with whether or not they have the correct personality profile. This news must be especially problematic to woman with large breasts or those patients who nap. Diabetic Investor can’t state how relived we are to know that a patients personality profile impacts outcomes.
It’s too bad the authors of this study did not offer any possible solutions to this problem. One just might think they would have at least recommended that patients with a shy personality take some sort of self help class to overcome their shyness. In the absence of any concrete recommendations made by the authors Diabetic Investor, in the interest of helping patients with diabetes achieve better outcomes, has our own set of recommendations.
The best solution would be for the these shy patients is to go to their local sporting goods store, purchase a baseball bat and beat the living daylights out of the authors of this worthless study. This is a rather impractical solution as being shy it is unlikely these patients would place themselves in such a public situation. We also realize that physical violence, no matter how good it may make the patient feel, is not the solution.
Another, more practical solution, would be for patients who are not shy to help out and their shy friends. Although Diabetic Investor is pretty sure there is another group of researchers studying how being an extrovert could lead to greater adverse events.
Given that nearly two-thirds of patients of all patients are not adequately controlling their diabetes and that poor control leads to numerous complications, many of which that are life-threatening it’s impractical for researchers to study such mundane things like how we can help patients achieve better control. We further realize that researchers have nothing better to do than study such ground breaking things like how walking on the sidewalk impacts outcomes or whether patients over six feet tall achieve better outcomes than those shorter than six feet. Considering that diabetes is a global epidemic creating not just a healthcare but economic crisis, it’s critical that we know whether left handed patients have better outcomes than righties.
Diabetic Investor would also like to announce that we are no longer accepting nominations for the dumbest research contest. Frankly there are just too many possibilities and with all the earth shattering research being done it’s impossible to choose a winner. We considered changing the contest and asking for nominations for research that would actually benefit patients with diabetes however this type of research seems just too boring and mundane to be done.
Why should researchers study things like how to improve therapy compliance or which drugs are actually effective when they can study important areas like the relationship of being a Chicago White Sox fan and diabetes. In fact we’re pretty sure that there is a study underway that is examining the effect of watching the college basketball tournament and diabetes. Yep it is these types of research that will turn the tide and reserve the epidemic growth rate of diabetes and help the millions of patients with diabetes and millions more with pre-diabetes achieve better outcomes.
When it comes to the body of research we’re seeing Diabetic Investor is reminded of something that was written in 1,001 Logical Laws by John Peers; “The worst thing about stupidity is its insistency.”
