Background:
Self-care is essential for the prevention of complications in patients with diabetes,
but several authors report that even with health education programs, the incidence of complications
in patients with diabetes continues to increase.
Objective:
We aimed to examine adherence to self-care strategies and the repercussions of adherence
on the clinical profiles of individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Methods:
We performed a systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched for related studies in 4 databases:
PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Literature (LILACS).
We included observational studies in English and Portuguese that evaluated the effects of selfcare
in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Results:
The search resulted in the identification of 615 articles, of which 34 met all the inclusion criteria.
General self-care was considered unsatisfactory. Physical exercise was classified as the self-care
activity that was performed less frequently by individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus; adherence to
medication was the most frequent behavior among volunteers.
Conclusion:
The studies indicated poor adherence of the population to good self-care practices, reflected
by the increase in complications related to DM.
Depression linked to poor self-care in patients with diabetes mellitus