Quality of Life in Diabetic Patients in the Primary Care Unit

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the level of quality of life and related factors in type 2 diabetic patients who were followed up at the Primary Care Unit of a university hospital in southern Thailand.Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in type 2 diabetes patients who were continuously followed up at the primary care unit. Quality of life was the primary outcome assessed by the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief-Thai questionnaire and related factors were analyzed using the multivariate generalized linear model.Results: This study included 158 patients who fit our eligibility criteria. The median age was 66 years old and median duration of diabetes was 10 years. Most had comorbidities and a quarter had diabetic complications. The results show 64.6% of the study sample had a good level of quality of life and no one had a bad level of quality of life. The results of multivariate generalized linear model show that no factors were associated with overall quality of life. Obesity was statistically significantly associated with a lower quality of life in the physical health dimension [odd ratio (OR)=0.35 (0.14, 0.89), p-value=0.027] and diabetic complications were associated with a lower quality of life in the psychological dimension [OR=0.27 (0.08, 0.85), p-value=0.025].Conclusion: Most diabetic patients had a good quality of life. There were no factors associated with overall quality of life, but obesity and diabetic complications were statistically significantly associated with some dimensions of quality of life. Healthcare providers should assess aspects of quality of life in patients with chronic diseases.