To explore the network characteristics of symptom clusters in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus through network analysis, identify the core and bridging symptoms within the symptom network, and provide a foundation for targeted interventions and symptom management in people with T2DM.
A cross-sectional survey.
A total of 360 people with T2DM who were hospitalised in the endocrinology departments of two hospitals with Grade A in Daqing City between August 2024 and February 2025 were selected using a convenience sampling method. The symptoms of people with T2DM were measured using the Chinese version of the Diabetes Symptom Checklist-Revised (DSC-R). Symptom clusters were identified through factor analysis, and network analysis was used to identify core and bridging symptoms. This research adhered to the STROBE guidelines.
Six symptom clusters were obtained from factor analysis, which were psychological-behavioural symptom cluster, ophthalmological-neuropathy symptom cluster, cardiovascular symptom cluster, metabolic symptom cluster, body symptom cluster and nephrotic symptom cluster. Symptom network analysis revealed that ‘Deteriorating vision’ exhibited the highest strength centrality and expected influence. The top three symptoms with the highest bridge strength and bridge expected influence were ‘Aching calves when walking’, ‘Queer feeling in the legs or feet’ and ‘Sleepiness or drowsiness’.
People with T2DM commonly exhibit a range of symptoms. ‘Deteriorating vision’ is the most core symptom in people with T2DM. ‘Aching calves when walking’, ‘Queer feeling in the legs or feet’ and ‘Sleepiness or drowsiness’ are identified as the bridging symptoms in the network analysis. Healthcare professionals can design targeted interventions based on symptom clusters, core symptoms and bridging symptoms, thereby improving the efficiency of symptom management and optimising outcomes for people with T2DM.
No patient or public contribution.
Nurse-led telephone-based follow-up interventions play a role in patient follow-up, but at present, no meta-analysis has been found to assess the effectiveness of nurse-led, telephone follow-up interventions for patients with acute coronary syndrome.
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of nurse-led telephone-based follow-up interventions on health outcomes in people with acute coronary syndromes.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
A comprehensive search of six databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and Scopus was conducted from the inception of the databases to 30 September 2023. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the included randomized controlled studies. Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 16.0 were used to conduct statistical analysis.
A total of 12 studies were included. Nurse-led telephone-based follow-up interventions may reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure (MD = −2.55, 95% CI [−4.16, −0.94]) (MD = −2.15, 95% CI [−3.18, −1.12]) and low-density lipoprotein (MD = −9.06, 95% CI [−14.33, −3.79]) in patients with acute coronary syndrome. However, its effectiveness in controlling high-density lipoprotein (MD = 1.65, 95% CI [−4.30, 7.61]) and reducing total cholesterol (MD = −2.72, 95% CI [−7.57, 2.13]) was uncertain. In addition, the results showed that the nurse-led follow-up intervention did not play a role in improving anxiety (SMD = −0.20, 95% CI [−0.44, 0.04]) and depression (SMD = −0.07, 95% CI [−0.21, 0.06]) in patients with acute coronary syndrome, but it probably improved drug adherence (RR = 1.30, 95% CI [1.05, 1.60]) and smoking cessation (RR = 1.31, 95% CI [1.08, 1.60]).
The findings of this review suggest that nurse-led telephone-based follow-up interventions had a potentially positive effect on controlling blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein levels, as well as improving medication adherence and smoking cessation among patients with acute coronary syndrome, compared to usual care. However, the intervention did not appear to significantly impact high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, anxiety, and depression, indicating that further research in these areas will be necessary in the future.
PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews): CRD42023465894