Self-Reported Satisfaction to Treatment, Quality of Life and General Health of Type 2 Diabetes Patients with Inadequate Glycemic Control from North-Eastern Romania

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 6; p. 3249
• Main Authors: Grigorescu, Elena-Daniela, Lăcătușu, Cristina-Mihaela, Crețu, Ioana, Floria, Mariana, Onofriescu, Alina, Ceasovschih, Alexandr, Mihai, Bogdan-Mircea, Șorodoc, Laurențiu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 21.03.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Aged; Body mass; Body mass index; Body size; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular system; Chronic illnesses; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes mellitus (non-insulin dependent); Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - drug therapy; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - epidemiology; Europe; Female; Glucagon; Glycemic Control; Humans; Hyperglycemia; Insulin; Male; Mental health; Metabolism; Middle Aged; Patient Satisfaction; Patients; Peptides; Personal Satisfaction; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Retrospective Studies; Romania - epidemiology; Self Report; Surveys and Questionnaires; Europe; Romania; quality-adjusted life years; satisfaction to treatment; type 2 diabetes; ADDQoL-19; SF-6D; quality of life; DTSQ; SF-36
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18063249

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) undermines health and quality of life (QoL). This cross-sectional study surveyed 138 consenting T2DM patients from North-Eastern Romania with regard to their satisfaction with treatment, diabetes-related impact on QoL, and general health. The Romanian versions of Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (DTSQ), Audit of Diabetes Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQoL-19), and 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaires were used. Self-reports were analyzed in conjunction with clinical and metabolic profiling. The patients were 57.86 ± 8.82 years old, 49.3% men, treated with oral glucose-lowering drugs, presenting with inadequate glycemic control but without cardiovascular manifestations. The mean DTSQ and ADDQoL scores were 25.46 ± 0.61 and -2.22 ± 1.2, respectively. Freedom to eat, holidays, journeys, leisure, physical health, sex life, freedom to drink, and feelings about the future scored below average. The mean SF-36 physical and mental health scores were 47.78 ± 1.03 and 50.44 ± 1.38, respectively. The mean SF-6D score was 0.59 ± 0.04 (generated retrospectively using SF-36 data). Negative associations were significant between ADDQoL, age (r = -0.16), and body mass index (r = -0.23), < 0.01. Overall scores did not correlate with diabetes duration (except DTSQ, r = -1.18, = 0.02) or HbA . The results confirm other researchers' findings in Europe and nearby countries. Our patients seemed satisfied with treatment despite glycemic imbalance and viewed diabetes as a burden on QoL and especially freedom to eat.