An Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life and Glycemic Control Among Type 2 Diabetes Patients in a Tertiary Hospital in Bangkok: A Hospital-based Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: This hospital-based cross-sectional study aimed to examine the association between diabetes-specific quality of life (QoL), diabetes-related clinical characteristics and glycemic control among type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients. Methods: 335 T2DM patients receiving treatment at the diabetes clinic of a tertiary hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, were recruited into the study. The Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQoL19) was used to assess QoL. The ADDQoL scores were split into two groups using quartiles. The group in the lower quartile was considered as “having low QoL.” Hemoglobin A1c (A1C) was used as an index of glycemic control. Results: 67.8% of participants were female. The mean age was 62.5 (SD 11.8) years and mean diabetes duration was 11.3 (SD 7.8) years. 53.7% of participants had lower QoL and 74.0% had poor glycemic control (A1C ≥ 7%). The life domains of the ADDQoL with the highest negative impacts were “freedom to eat,” “freedom to drink” and “feelings about the future.” Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that lower QoL and a combination of oral medication with insulin were independently associated with poor glycemic control. Conclusion: Lower diabetes-specific QoL and combination of oral medication with insulin were associated with poor glycemic control. Health personnel should encourage patients to continue to receive treatment and monitoring from their physicians. Screening T2DM patients with ADDQoL is beneficial to identifying and implementing the appropriate diabetes self-management interventions to improve patients’ QoL and better glycemic control.