Delay discounting of gains and losses, glycemic control and therapeutic adherence in type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Delay discounting is the tendency to prefer smaller, sooner rewards to larger, later ones. Poor adherence in type 2 diabetes could be partially explained by a discounted value of health, as a function of delay. Delay discounting can be described with a hyperbolic model characterized by a coefficient, k. The higher k, the less future consequences are taken into account when making decisions. This study aimed to determine whether k would be correlated with glycated hemoglobin and adherence in type 2 diabetes.

METHODS: Ninety-three patients were recruited in two diabetology departments. Delay discounting coefficients were measured with a computerized task. HbA1c was recorded and adherence was assessed by questionnaires. Potential socio-demographic and clinical confounding factors were collected.

RESULTS: There was a positive correlation between delay discounting of gains and HbA1c (r=0.242, P=0.023). This association remained significant after adjusting for potential confounding factors (F=4.807, P=0.031, η(2)=0.058). This association was partially mediated by adherence to medication (β=0.048, 95% CI [0.004-0.131]).

CONCLUSIONS: Glycemic control is associated with delay discounting in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes. Should these findings be replicated with a prospective design, they could lead to new strategies to improve glycemic control among these patients.