Young people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes experience high psychological distress, resulting in worse health outcomes and poor blood sugar control, find researchers from Carnegie Mellon University. Age plays a critical role in the well-being of people newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

"We found we can evaluate a patient's initial stress and predict how they will be doing six months later," said Vicki Helgeson, professor of psychology at the university. "If you can identify people who are facing diabetes distress earlier, you can intervene and prevent their health from declining," said the findings published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine.