Partners' expressed emotion and the control and management of Type 1 diabetes in adults

Objective: "Expressed emotion" (EE) refers to a set of valid and reliable m easures of family emotional attitudes, which are robust predictors of illne ss course in several psychiatric conditions and which have recently been st udied in some medical conditions. We hypothesised that high EE in partners of diabetes patients would be associated with poorer glucose control, manag ement of and adaptation to diabetes. Methods: Sixty adult Type 1 diabetes p atients, who were attending routine clinics at a specialist diabetes centre , and their partners were interviewed separately and completed various ques tionnaire measures. Partners' EE was rated from a modified Camberwell Famil y Interview; patients were interviewed to assess self-management practices. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) was the measure of glucose control. Results: Only 10/60 (17%) partners were classified as high EE. Patients with high-E E partners had significantly worse self-management scores, more negative ap praisal of diabetes, and higher depression scores than those with low-EE pa rtners, but there was no association between EE measures and HbA(1c),. Conc lusions: In contrast to findings from previous research on the families of patients with psychiatric illnesses, only a minority of partners of adult p atients with Type 1 diabetes are classified as high-EE. We found no evidenc e that partners' EE was related to patients' blood glucose control. (C) 200 0 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.