Abstract:
Objective To investigate diabetic patients' quality of life (QOL) and related impact factors in selected communities, and to provide evidence and baseline information for intervention and evaluation.
Methods A total of 300 diabetic patients were selected by simple random sampling from management databases of 2 community health centers in Pudong New Area of Shanghai. The response rate was 99.0%. Information on QOL and related impact factors were collected by face-toface interview with questionnaires and analyzed by an unconditional logistic stepwise regression model.
Results The scores of physical functioning (PF), role physical (RP), body pain (BP), general health (GH), vitality (VT), social functioning (SF), role emotional (RE) and mental health (MH) were 85, 100, 87.5, 62, 75, 87.5, 100 and 78 respectively. Married, understanding relevant knowledge on diabetes, good dietary and exercise habits, maintaining blood glucose level and regular health examination were the positive factors of QOL. Older age, female, extensive diabetic history, with other chronic complications and having more symptoms showed negative impact on QOL.
Conclusion The QOL is low in selected diabetic patients. Integrated intervention is necessary to improve their QOL, including improving dietary and exercise habits, controlling blood glucose level and treating complications.