OBJECTIVE: The descriptive findings from the Danish sample of the second Diabetes, Attitudes, Wishes, and Needs (DAWN2) study are presented, with specific focus on the psychological impact of living with diabetes and quality of life for people with diabetes and family members of people with diabetes.

METHOD: 502 people with diabetes over the age of 18 and 122 family members completed questionnaires online, by telephone or in person, including validated measures of diabetes-related distress, emotional well-being and quality of life as well as other measures of psychological well-being.

RESULTS: People with diabetes reported that living with diabetes was a psychological burden, with individuals taking insulin medication or diagnosed with type 1 diabetes reporting the most distress. Half of all family members sampled reported that living with diabetes impacted them negatively.

CONCLUSION: The higher levels of emotional distress found in people taking insulin medication are likely due to greater disease severity and associated self-care burdens. Care and support programmes may need to be revised in order to better address these issues. Moreover, psychological support programmes may need to be extended to include family members that experience distress as a result of living with diabetes.