Abstract
BackgroundOne-third of adults with diabetes in the United States have chronic kidney disease (CKD), and 19% of them have eye complications (ECs). However, little is known about the Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of adults with both of these diabetes-related complications. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine differences in the HRQoL, mental health, and healthcare utilization of adults with diabetes who have CKD, ECs, both or neither.MethodsA cross-sectional study design was implemented using data from multiple panels (2009–2015) of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. HRQoL was measured using the SF-12 Physical and Mental Component Summary (PCS & MCS) scores. The HRQoL, mental health, and healthcare utilization of four mutually exclusive groups: 1) diabetes with both CKD and ECs; 2) diabetes with CKD only; 3) diabetes with ECs only, and 4) diabetes with neither CKD nor ECs were compared. In all analyses, adults with neither CKD nor ECs were the reference group.ResultsThere were 8415 adults with diabetes who met the inclusion criteria. Approximately, 75% of the study sample had neither CKD nor ECs, 13.3% had ECs only, 5.7% had CKD only, and 5.5% had both CKD and ECs. In the adjusted analyses, adults with both CKD and/or ECs complications exhibited significantly lower HRQoL compared to those with neither CKD nor ECs. Mental illness and psychological distress were higher among adults with both CKD and ECs compared to those with neither CKD nor ECs. Furthermore, adults with CKD and/or ECs had higher polypharmacy, inpatient and emergency services use compared to those with neither CKD nor ECs.ConclusionsThe results indicate that the presence of both CKD and/or ECs was negatively associated with poor HRQoL, poor mental health, higher psychological distress and healthcare utilization in adults with diabetes. The findings emphasize the need for routine assessment and treatment for diabetes-related CKD and/or ECs complications to improve the quality of care for individuals with diabetes.
Highlights
One-third of adults with diabetes in the United States have chronic kidney disease (CKD), and 19% of them have eye complications (ECs)
The study sample consists of 8415 adults with diabetes, of which 75.5% had neither CKD nor ECs, 13.3% had ECs only, 5.7% had CKD only, and 5.5% had both CKD and ECs
The current study examines the differences in Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL), mental health, and healthcare utilization among adults with diabetes who have CKD, ECs, both or neither
Summary
One-third of adults with diabetes in the United States have chronic kidney disease (CKD), and 19% of them have eye complications (ECs). Little is known about the Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of adults with both of these diabetes-related complications. The purpose of this study is to examine differences in the HRQoL, mental health, and healthcare utilization of adults with diabetes who have CKD, ECs, both or neither. In the United States (US), nearly 30.2 million adults were diagnosed with diabetes, of which one third had chronic kidney disease (CKD) [2], and 19% had eye complications (ECs) [3]. Diabetes-related CKD and/or ECs are associated with high healthcare expenditures and utilization [6, 7]. The number of diabetes-related complications has resulted in extra hospital visits and healthcare cost [7]
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