Fig. 1
Proposed structural equation model with hypothesized explanatory and outcome variables (rectangle: measured variables; oval: latent variables) and interlinking paths to explain the multi-causality of hospitalization (15). Abbreviations: PEARL: peer support intervention, Frequency: number of hospitalization episodes, Stay: Length of hospital stay, PHQ-9: 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire assessing depressive symptoms, DASS-21: 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, CDDS-15: 15-item Chinese Diabetes Distress Scale, Medication Adherence: 4-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, CKD: Chronic Kidney Disease with eGFR 15–60 ml/min/1.73 m2, CVD: Cardiovascular disease including coronary heart disease (myocardial infarction, unstable angina, percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary bypass operation), stroke, peripheral vascular disease (lower extremity amputation, absent foot pulses with ankle:brachial ratio < 0.9 and/or lower limb revascularization), BP: Blood pressure, SBP (systolic) DBP (diastolic), TC/LDL-C: Total cholesterol/LDL-cholesterol, TG: Triglycerides, BMI: Body mass index, Waist: waist circumference, N.B. Baseline explanatory measures were analyzed