Association between mindfulness and interoceptive accuracy in patients with diabetes: Preliminary evidence from blood glucose estimates.

OBJECTIVE: Mindfulness-based interventions, which increase dispositional mindfulness, may be useful adjunctive therapies for patients with chronic diseases, including diabetes. One way that mindfulness may benefit patients with diabetes is by fostering more accurate interoception, particularly in the form of blood glucose estimate accuracy. Many people with diabetes regulate their behavior based on estimates of their blood glucose levels from interoception, but they vary in estimate accuracy. Therefore, our objective was to conduct a preliminary test of the hypothesis that, in a sample of patients with diabetes, more mindful individuals would demonstrate greater blood glucose estimate accuracy.

METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, patients (N=28) with type 2 diabetes estimated their blood glucose levels immediately before their actual levels were assessed. Participants also completed two measures of mindfulness: one assessing general dispositional mindfulness and another assessing mindfulness specifically in the face of difficulty.

RESULTS: Although general dispositional mindfulness was unrelated to blood glucose estimate accuracy, individuals who reported more mindfulness during difficulties were approximately four times more likely to meet established accuracy criteria.

CONCLUSIONS: Mindfulness specifically during difficulties might play a role in disease-relevant interoception for patients with diabetes. Future research should aim to replicate this finding in larger and different samples, and to examine the potential role of mindfulness during difficulties in mindfulness-based interventions for patients with diabetes.