Effectiveness of a nursing model based on traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation in patients with type 2 diabetes: A retrospective cohort study

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and insufficient insulin secretion. Despite existing therapeutic strategies, challenges such as inadequate treatment adherence and psychological stress often result in suboptimal blood glucose control. This study investigates the effectiveness of a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome differentiation-based nursing model in managing T2DM, aiming to improve blood glucose control, physical health, quality of life, and psychological state. This retrospective cohort study enrolled 125 T2DM patients from the endocrinology clinic between April 2023 and November 2024. Participants were divided into 2 groups: the observation group (TCM syndrome differentiation-based nursing model) and the control group (conventional nursing care). Various outcomes were assessed, including blood glucose management (fasting plasma glucose, 2-hour postprandial blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin), physical indicators (body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio), food craving (Food Cravings Trait Questionnaire), quality of life (Diabetes Quality of Life Scale), and psychological state (Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Self-Rating Depression Scale). The observation group showed significantly greater reductions in fasting plasma glucose, 2-hour postprandial blood glucose, and glycated hemoglobin (P < .001), compared to the control group (P < .05). Physical indicators (body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio) also improved significantly (P < .001), with greater improvements than the control group (P < .05). Additionally, the observation group had notably better scores for food craving (Food Cravings Trait Questionnaire) and quality of life (Diabetes Quality of Life Scale), and anxiety (Self-Rating Anxiety Scale) and depression (Self-Rating Depression Scale) scores decreased significantly (P < .05). The TCM syndrome differentiation-based nursing model significantly improves blood glucose control, physical health, dietary control, quality of life, and psychological well-being in T2DM patients, suggesting its important clinical application value.