Diabetes Quality of Life Among Elderly Diabetic Patients and Its Associations

Abstract

Introduction: The number of elderly diabetes patients is rising all over the world. Therefore, the quality of life of older people as well as the factors that influence it are aimed to be evaluated in this study. Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 269 senior diabetes patients from government health clinic in Kuantan, Pahang. Their sociodemographic information was gathered, and the Diabetes Quality of Life Instrument (DQoL) was used to assess their quality of life. The connection between DQoL domains and covariates was determined by Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Linear regression analysis was used to find the predictors. Results: : The majority of patients in the B40 groups had at least a primary level of education (52.2%) and a source of income (97.3%).The majority of the clinics (61.3 %) were located in rural areas and did not have a family medicine specialist on staff (77.7 %). The majority of the patients had uncontrolled diabetes (71.7%), uncontrolled blood pressure (63.2%), uncontrolled cholesterol levels (74.0%), and abnormal abdominal circumferences (84.8%). Clinic location, diabetes control status, and old age were statistically significant in predicting the quality of life. Conclusion: Despite the perception of a significant risk of problems, this study found that decreasing the HbA1c goal further improved the quality of life of older patients. Those clinic headed by family medicine specialist gave the highest degree of patient quality of life. As a result, additional primary care physicians should be trained, as well as local treatment measures.

Quality of life, stress, anxiety and depression and associated factors among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Western region Saudi Arabia

“…Our results regarding the association of HbA1c and QoL contrast with a few other studies (25)(26)(27). There is a strong likelihood that better QoL contributes to improved self-care behaviors, leading to lower HbA1c levels (25).…”

“…A recent study among individuals from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan reported depression among DM subjects due to restrictions, and they admitted that they could not enjoy the Eid al Fitr festivity and felt depressed ( 26 ). A systematic review indicated that depression and anxiety in patients reduce their perception of QoL ( 27 ). QoL has a strong influence on the lives of individuals with diabetes and has a direct relationship with glycemic control ( 28 , 29 ).…”