Non-Confidential Summary

Market Need

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a group of metabolic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes and excess body fat, that raise an individual’s risk for heart disease and stroke. MetS is highly prevalent in individuals with psychotic disorders and can contribute to significant morbidity and premature mortality. Mortality rates are estimated to be 2-3 times higher than the general population and a 20% shorter life expectancy. Diabetes, which is part of MetS, is highly prevalent in patients with psychotic disorders, with prevalence ranging from 1.26%-50%. It is often undetected, with 21% of patients with psychosis unaware they have diabetes and almost 60% of patients taking antipsychotics are not routinely tested. Patients with psychiatric disorders are also less likely to seek treatment, further delaying the detection of comorbidities. Impaired illness awareness and the minimization of the need for medical interventions in MetS and diabetes are under-recognized and understudied which contributes to medication non-adherence and poor clinical outcomes. Improving illness awareness among individuals may facilitate medication adherence, reduce morbidity, and re-hospitalization rates, thereby improving the quality of life for patients and their families. A number of scales have been developed to measure illness perceptions in metabolic disorders and diabetes; however, these measures are not specific to the quantitative assessment of illness awareness or illness denial in these conditions. Further, most are cumbersome and are difficult to use and interpret.

Technology Description

Our scientists have developed a novel and easy to administer measure of insight into illness scale for use in diabetes. The measure assesses the core domains of insight into illness, including awareness of need for treatment. With 10-point Likert scales for each item, this scale has the capacity to detect small changes in insight into illness and need for treatment scores. The measure is designed to assess the multidimensional factor structure of insight into illness in diabetes. This is particularly useful in monitoring treatment outcomes, as a valuable addition to comprehensive clinical trial protocols.

Stage of Development

Investigators are currently validating the scale and conducting tests for reliability. The scale will be validated in English and potentially other languages for wider use. Upon validation, the inventor plans to create an electronic version, which will facilitate data storage for research studies and clinical use.

Advantages

• Specific to the quantitative assessment of impaired illness awareness or illness denial.
• User friendly tool with the capacity to detect small changes in insight scores with the use of 10-point Likert scales for each item.
• Provides a set of questions specific to diabetes that are within the niche of understanding patient awareness of their illness.
• Offers a screening mechanism to determine which patients are most suitable for medication adherence programs or interventions to enhance medication adherence.
• Superior to self-reporting by patients, objective and comparable.

Notable Publication

http://illnessawarenessscales.com