Background and aims: Painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) is a complex complication associated with poor glycaemic control. Current treatments for PDN aim to treat the symptoms of pain and discomfort and are mainly pharmacological but have limited effectiveness. However, less is known about alternatives such as psychological treatments and the role of psychological variables related to PDN. The aim of this study is to survey people with PDN and examine the role of psychological flexibility (PF) in relation to their daily functioning. 

Methods: This is a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study with 225 participants (mean age 52.05 + 12.06), who were recruited from NHS and online.

Results: In correlation analyses, acceptance of pain was shown to be negatively correlated to pain intensity (r=-0.21, p<0.01), pain distress (r=-0.25, p<0.01) functional impairment (r=-0.38, p<0.01), depression severity, (r=-0.41, p<0.01), and depression impact (r=-0.41, p<0.01). Committed action also correlated negatively with functional impairment (r=-0.22, p<0.01), depression severity (r=-0.43, p<0.01) and depression impact (r=-0.21, p<0.01). Results from regression analyses show that the combination of four variables representing psychological flexibility accounted for significant variance in most equations. In the equation for depression severity, pain intensity accounted for 23.3% of variance. In the equation for depression impact, pain intensity accounted for 13.2% of variance.

Conclusions: These results highlight the potential utility of PF in the design and implementation of psychological interventions for individuals from PDN. The reliability and generalisability of the results need to be established.

A STUDY OF THE ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY AMONG UK ADULT PATIENTS WITH PAINFUL DIABETIC NEUROPATHY