Last update:
23-Jul-2008

OBJECTIVE Diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM-2) places a huge strain on health and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The increasing prevalence of the disease has reached epidemic proportions lately. Measuring health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in DM-2 patients is important for setting up proper disease management strategies. The purpose of this study was to identify factors, which significantly affect the HRQOL of DM-2 patients.

METHOD The sample (n=236, 51.2% female, 69.9 years mean age) lived in a rural community of Lesvos, an island in the northeast of the Aegean archipelagos. The Greek version of the generic EQ-5D instrument was administered via interview. Common socio-demographic variables and various diabetes-related data were recorded.

RESULTS The mean EQ-VAS and EQ_index scores, for the entire sample, were 58.84 (±21.94) and 0.68 (±0.31), respectively. The presence of macrovascular complications negatively affected most EQ-5D dimensions, such as mobility (P<0.01), self care and usual activities (P<0.001), as well as the EQ-VAS (P<0.05) and EQ_index (P<0.001) scores. The EQ-VAS was negatively associated with age (r=-0.13, P<0.05) and years with diabetes (r=-0.24, P<0.001). The EQ_index was also negatively associated with age (r=-0.19, P<0.01) and years with diabetes (r=-0.20, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS HRQOL of diabetic patients is affected by many socio-demographic factors such as gender, age, education and marital status. Years with diabetes and mostly micro- and macrovascular complications also negatively affect HRQOL in this disease group. Programs addressing diabetes prevention and health promotion are required in order to reduce the prevalence of the disease. Furthermore, special attention must be given to the issue of managing diabetes complications.

Key words: Diabetes mellitus 2, Health-related quality of life, Questionnaire EQ-5D.