Factors associated with quality of life in patients with Type 2 diabetes of Cotonou, South Benin

Abstract

Background & Objective Diabetes is known to worsen the health-related Quality of life (QOL). However, little is known about the QOL of diabetic patients in Benin, where the disease is becoming an urgent public health issue. This study aimed to assess QOL and its associated factors among type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients in Cotonou, southern Benin. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 T2D patients (age>18 years) selected conveniently from four health centers. The diabetes quality of life's (DQOL) and a revised version of Natividad self-care behaviors' (SCB) instrument were used for data collection. Levels of QOL were determined by calculating the scores, and multivariate logistic regression was used to explore factors associated with QOL scores. Results The mean of patients' overall QOL was 38.1±4.1, with 43% of participants with low QOL. Among the three domains of DQOL, 56.3% of respondents scored higher than the population mean in the impact domain, followed by satisfaction (53%) and worry (32.7%) domains. The logistic regression analysis results showed that education, marital status, occupation, family history of diabetes, complications, and social support were significantly associated with QOL. Among SCB factors, healthy eating, problem solving, coping strategies, and risk reduction were identified as significant predictors of these patients' QOL. Conclusions Self-management education and patient-centered care are needed to improve the QOL of T2D patients in Cotonou, Benin. However, such programs should target primarily at patients with no education, low socioeconomic status, and those lacking social support.