Health related quality of life of patients with diabetes in Romania

Abstract

Background and aims: This paper aims at understanding patient's perspective in coping with diabetes in Romania. The study analyzes whether there are significant differences between health related quality of life (HRQL) of patients with diabetes, based on sociodemographic and disease-related characteristics. Material and methods: The study included 128 patients aged ≥ 18 years, diagnosed with type 1 and 2 diabetes and was conducted in the period of November 2015 - July 2016. The project included two main research instruments - one questionnaire applied face-to-face to each patient and one questionnaire completed by the physicians including health data for each patient who agreed to participate in the study. The set of tested characteristics includes: (i) gender; (ii) place of residence; (iii) education level; (iv) marital status; (v) employment status; (vi) level of personal income; (vii) age; (viii) type of diabetes; (ix) duration of diabetes; (x) household composition (another person with diabetes); (xi) network support and (xii) patient's access to information and communication technology (ICT). Results: The mean age was 54.23±12.76 years, with three quarters of respondents above the age of 40 years and 68% married. More than half of participants have access to internet, either at home or at work. Conclusions: The results indicate that gender, household's composition, place of residence, access to ICT, employment status, type of diabetes, personal income level, the presence of a support network, age and diabetes duration differentiate between reported HRQL indicators. The study adds knowledge for understanding chronic disease patients' self-assessment of HRQL in Romania.