The quality of life of elderly diabetic patients

The objective of this study was to evaluate the health-related quality of l ife (HRQoL) of elderly diabetic patients. A cross-sectional, questionnaire survey of diabetic subjects aged 65-84 years (n = 177 respondents) from thr ee community health centers in Stockholm County. The HRQoL was assessed by the Swedish Health-Related Quality of Life Survey (SWED-QUAL), a generic HR QoL questionnaire adapted from the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) and consist ing of 67 items covering broad aspects of the HRQoL. Diabetic subjects were compared with age- and gender-matched controls from a random standard popu lation sample (SPS) of the Swedish population. Medical data on the diabetic subjects were extracted from medical records. The HRQoL, as regarded 7 of the 13 scales, was poorer in diabetic subjects than in the SPS controls. Th ese scales were "general health perceptions," "physical functioning," "sati sfaction with physical health," "role limitations due to physical health," "pain," "sleep problems," and "role limitations due to emotional health." A theromatous complications and nonvascular disease were significant predicto rs of a poor HRQoL. "Cognitive functioning" was the only HRQoL scale on whi ch diabetic subjects with high levels of HbA(1c) (HbA(1c) > 7.0%) scored wo rse than those with acceptable levels (HbA(1c) < 7.0%). In our study, elder ly diabetic subjects had a poorer HRQoL than the general population, especi ally regarding physical health. Poor metabolic control was associated with reduced cognitive function. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reser ved.