Measuring the Quality of Life in Diabetic Patients: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background. Diabetes mellitus is a widely diffused chronic condition which impacts on several aspects of patients’ lives. In the current clinical practice, the implementation in the clinical routine of monitoring systems of patients’ outcomes has led to an increased generation and use of several measures for the assessment of patients’ quality of life (QOL). Nevertheless, this construct appears to be particularly complex, and its operationalization is variable across different measures. The purpose of this paper is to offer an updated review of the diabetes-specific QOL measures present in scientific literature with a specific focus on the broad domains assessed. Methods. A scoping review was carried out with the purpose of identifying the existing measures in literature and describing their implicit representation of QOL in diabetes care. Five different databases (Scopus; Web of Science Core Collection; Medline; PsycInfo; and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) were searched with a string including validation studies of adult-only, diabetes-specific QOL measures. Each measure was then qualified according to its structure, a qualitative assessment of the broad domains of QOL it comprises, and finally an overview of the psychometric properties of its first validation. Results. 30 scales were identified and assessed. Theme analysis shows that QOL is operationalized with multidimensional surveys comprising of both mental, physical, and social health components. Some scales also consider the impact of societal attitudes, public policies, and context on QOL. Conclusion. Several self-report measures of QOL specifically developed for diabetic patients exist in scientific literature. The present scoping review reports scales structure, broad domains of QOL, and development purpose. This may help in understanding the concept of QOL in diabetic patients and may also serve the purpose of guiding the reader in the choice of the most appropriate instrument or in the development of a new one.

The Impact of Education, COVID-19 and Risk Factors on the Quality of Life in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

“…Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, they were asked how much the pandemic affected them, which precautionary measures they were taking, and if they knew that diabetes mellitus was a risk factor for COVID-19. Many measures specific for the assessment of quality of life in diabetic patients exist in scientific literature; 30 scales were identified [ 25 ]. Quality of life scales in diabetics consist of mental, physical, and social health components.…”

“…Quality of life scales in diabetics consist of mental, physical, and social health components. Some diabetic quality of life scales also take into account the impact of public policies and societal attitudes [ 25 ]. The quality of life index from Carol E. Ferrans and Marjorie J.…”

Impact of diabetes and periodontal status on life quality

“…Methodologically, it is essential to use multidimensional assessments, including both generic and diabetes-specific measures as a guide to evaluate treatment interventions and to assess QoL. 48 We also recognise that performing statistical testing based on data from subgroups of patients with differing periodontal conditions weakened the power of the analyses. In future studies, it would be beneficial to assess QoL in sufficiently large groups of patients with different periodontal status, and with or without diabetes, utilising generic (for diabetic and non-diabetic patients) and diabetes-specific questionnaires (for diabetic patients only) and accounting for loss to follow-up so that a robust oral health-related QoL and health-related QoL assessment can be made.…”

Self-Reported Satisfaction to Treatment, Quality of Life and General Health of Type 2 Diabetes Patients with Inadequate Glycemic Control from North-Eastern Romania

“…There is no unanimous definition of quality of life and no single methodology to measure it with undisputed objectivity. In diabetes research, the heterogeneity of QoL survey tools encumbers the systematic review of how people with diabetes appraise their overall condition [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. For instance, there is a certain degree of semantic overlap between quality of life and psychological well-being.…”

“…For instance, there is a certain degree of semantic overlap between quality of life and psychological well-being. Notably, some authors have attempted to outline a framework to help us discern the most relevant QoL measures for the PWD population [ 12 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Despite methodological challenges, the attention that recent clinical guidelines is beginning to pay to health-related QoL is an obvious improvement [ 7 ].…”