EASD Issues First Clinical Practice Guideline, Targeting “Diabetes Distress“
Vienna, Austria – The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) has released its inaugural clinical practice guideline, focusing on the frequently enough-overlooked emotional and psychological burden of living with diabetes, termed “diabetes distress.” The guideline, unveiled at EASD 2025, aims to integrate assessment and management of this distress into routine diabetes care.
Approximately one in three people with diabetes experience distress related to factors like nutrition, medication, and glucose monitoring, impacting self-care, quality of life, and metabolic control, according to behavioral scientist Jane Speight of Deakin University in Geelong, Australia. “Nevertheless, the subject is often overlooked in practice. With the guideline, we want it to be as standard in the consultation room,” she stated.
Developed following the EASD’s newly published standard operating procedure for guideline development3, the directive features eight practice-oriented statements for diagnostics and 18 grade recommendations for treatment. A panel of 10 experts – including clinicians, methodologists, and individuals with lived experience of diabetes – contributed to the guideline’s creation.
the guideline emphasizes proactively asking patients about their emotional experience with diabetes and utilizing validated tools for regular monitoring, with results documented in patient records. Internist and methodologist Thomas Karagiannis of Amsterdam UMC highlighted the use of “realist reviews” due to limited randomized trials in diagnostics,with the Amsterdam UMC conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses for treatment recommendations.
For both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, the guideline recommends incorporating psychological interventions alongside standard care. for those with type 2 diabetes, psycho-education, educational interventions, and peer support are also suggested as effective strategies, according to psychotherapist Karin Kat of slovenia.
The full guideline is available online2, alongside the EASD’s standard operating procedure for guideline development3.
Sources:
- Karagiannis T,et al. Assessment and management of diabetes distress: the EASD’s first clinical practice guideline. EASD 2025, oral session.
- 2026 EASD evidence-based clinical practice guideline for assessing and managing diabetes distress among adults with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. https://www.easd.org/uploads/Final-Draft_EASD-Diabetes-Distress-guideline.pdf
- Karagiannis T, et al.; EASD guidelines oversight committee. European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Standard Operating Procedure for the development of guidelines. Diabetologia. 2025;68:1600-15. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12245959/
