Basic characteristics of participants
| UCG (n=120) | SSG (n=119) | ASG (n=125) | P value | |
| Gender | ||||
| Male | 37 (30.8) | 43 (36.1) | 43 (34.4) | 0.676 |
| Female | 83 (69.2) | 76 (63.9) | 82 (65.6) | |
| Age (years) | 64.68±7.41 | 65.76±7.09 | 64.83±7.28 | 0.208 |
| Education | ||||
| ≤Junior middle school | 51 (42.5) | 57 (48.3) | 61 (48.8) | |
| High school | 42 (35.0) | 41 (33.9) | 53 (42.4) | 0.056 |
| ≥College degree | 27 (22.5) | 21 (17.8) | 11 (8.8) | |
| Marriage | ||||
| Married | 105 (87.5) | 97 (81.5) | 98 (78.4) | 0.165 |
| Unmarried/divorce/widowed | 15 (12.5) | 22 (18.5) | 27 (21.6) | |
| Duration of diabetes (years) | 11.52±8.62 | 10.55±8.31 | 10.69±7.66 | 0.610 |
| Antihyperglycemic medication | ||||
| No medication | 11 (9.2) | 2 (1.7) | 6 (4.8) | 0.176 |
| Diabetes tablets | 81 (67.5) | 85 (71.4) | 94 (75.2) | |
| Insulin treated | 6 (5.0) | 8 (6.7) | 8 (6.4) | |
| Insulin and tablets | 22 (18.3) | 24 (20.2) | 17 (13.6) | |
ASG, autonomy support group; SSG, social support group; UCG, usual care group.