Comparison of quality of life and functionality in type 2 diabetics with and without insulin

Abstract

SUMMARY INTRODUCTION Type 2 diabetes mellitus compromises physical, psychological, economic, and social life. OBJECTIVES To identify and compare the quality of life, depression, functional performance, and physical activity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who use insulin or not. METHODS A observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, comparative study involving 100 patients (50 use insulin and 50 do not) from a Teaching Hospital. Questionnaires used: Identification and Socioeconomic Profile; SF-36; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Visual Analogue Scale for Pain; Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, and International Physical Activity Questionnaire. RESULTS Sample composed predominantly by middle-aged, female, married, retired, and with incomplete elementary school individuals. There is impairment in all domains of quality of life, being more intense in functional capacity, physical limitations, pain, social aspects, limitation by emotional aspects, and mental health (P<0.05). There is a significant prevalence of anxiety or depressive symptoms in the groups, especially in those using insulin. However, the occurrence of the corresponding psychiatric disorders is unlikely (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in neuropathic pain between the groups (P=0.2296). Functional impairment is similar in both groups regarding self-care activities (P=0.4494) and productivity (P=0.5759), with a greater deterioration of leisure time in patients on insulin (P=0.0091). Most of them practice physical activity, predominantly walking, with no significant difference when comparing the groups (P>0.05), as well as in the other modalities. CONCLUSION Insulinized patients present greater impairment of functional capacity and socialization, as well as greater neuropathic pain, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.

Treinamento físico sem prescrição não reduz níveis glicêmicos e medidas antropométricas de pacientes portadores de diabetes mellitus tipo 2 fisicamente ativos

“…Outro aspecto relevante sobre a saúde dos indivíduos diabéticos é que, além do nível de atividade física ser menor, esses pacientes também apresentam qualidade de vida inferior em comparação com os indivíduos não diabéticos (Kumar et al, 2016), como comprometimento da capacidade funcional, de socialização e saúde mental (Reis, Cunha, Bianchin, Freitas & Castiglioni, 2019).…”

Hitting The Bullseye: The Psychometric Properties of the Assessment of Burden of Chronic Conditions (ABCC)-Scale in The Netherlands

“…To check the discriminative properties of the ABCC-scale for known groups of people with T2DM, three pairs of groups were created based on insulin use (insulin-independent versus insulin-dependent), presence of complications (no complications versus the presence of any the following conditions: nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, sexual dysfunction, amputation of any limb, diabetic foot, or cardiovascular disease), and obesity (Body mass Index (BMI) ≥ 30) (31)(32)(33). It was hypothesized that people with T2DM who use insulin score worse on the total scale and subscales feelings/emotions, physical limitations, relations and work, hypoglycemia and worry about the future (31,32,34). Furthermore it was hypothesized that people with T2DM and complications score worse on the total scale and subscales feelings/emotions, physical limitation, relations and work (33,(35)(36)(37).…”

Reply to: The influences of the environment and information on the complications of diabetes on patient outcomes

“…Hypoglycemia, a complication of diabetes, is said to reduce the work productivity of diabetic patients. In addition, patients with type 2 diabetes are limited by the social and emotional aspects of insulin therapy [4]; they refuse insulin therapy because they feel that starting insulin will stigmatize them socially. Thus, depending on the complications and treatment of diabetes, the results of this study may be weakened.…”