The quality of life of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Introduction: Quality of life is an important health outcome in its own right, representing the ultimate goal of all health interventions. Diabetes mellitus significantly affects the quality of life of patients. Objective: To evaluate the quality of life in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus in relation to the duration of the disease and the degree of glycemic control. Method: A prospective - descriptive study was conducted by interviewing patients with diabetes mellitus type 2, registered with two family medicine practices based at Family Medicine Teaching Center Banja Luka, as well as taking data from their medical records, during the period of 01.08 - 31.12.2011. As the instruments for this research the questionnaire SF-36 (for assessing the quality of life) and general questionnaire that contained data on age, sex, disease duration, Body Mass Index (BMI), glucose and HbA1c values were used. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the duration of the disease. The first group included patients with a disease duration of up to 5 years, the second group with disease duration of 6-13 years and a third group of patients who have had diabetes 14 or more years. Results: The study included 95 patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus. There were 42 (44%) male patients and 53 (56%) female patients. The HbA1c values taken from the patient's health records were used as a parameter for the control of diabetes. The target HbA1c value of <6.5 mmol/L was found in only 13 patients, with a HbA1c 6.6 to 7.5 mmol/L in 44 patients, and a HbA1c value of over 7.5 mmol/L in 38 patients. In relation to the duration of disease, statistically significant differences between the formed groups in any of the functional areas were not found. Among patients in the groups formed according to the degree of glycemic control statistically significant differences were found in the following areas of functioning: energy/fatigue (p=0.006), emotional functioning (p=0.008), social functioning (p=0.040) and pain (p=0.042). Conclusion: The duration of the disease does not affect the quality of life of patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus, but degree of glycemic control is affecting the quality of life in patients. However patients with the best glycemic control did not have the best quality of life. .