# Assessment and Factors Contributing to the Quality of Life in Diabetes Mellitus Patients: A Cross-Sectional Single-Center Study

## TL;DR

This study assesses the quality of life in diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia and identifies factors like age, gender, and comorbidities that influence it.

## Contribution

The study provides insights into QoL among diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia, highlighting differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes and the impact of comorbidities.

## Key findings

- Type 2 diabetes patients reported higher overall quality of life scores than type 1 diabetes patients.
- The psychological/spiritual domain had the highest mean QoL score, while the social and economic domain had the lowest.
- Patients with hypertension had higher QoL scores compared to those with cardiovascular or respiratory diseases.

## Abstract

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common chronic illnesses worldwide, with its prevalence rising rapidly every year. This condition adversely affects vasculature, leading to several potentially devastating complications like cerebrovascular mishaps, myocardial infarction, retinal damage, and renal compromise. These sequelae could lead to serious disabilities and negatively impact quality of life (QoL).

Objectives

This study aims to assess the QoL of adult diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia and determine influencing socio-demographic factors.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study targeting adult diabetic patients visiting the Imam Medical Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from October 2022 to June 2023. The study encompasses diabetic patients of both genders aged 18 or more but excludes those diagnosed recently, i.e., within less than one year. A validated Arabic questionnaire, available online, was used to assess the QoL of the diabetic patients enrolled in this study. The sample size was 244 adult diabetic patients recruited from the Imam Medical Center through their official social media sites.

Results

The cohort of 244 patients recruited in this study were mostly aged between 18 and 30 (44.7%), females (52.5%), and married (47.5%). Furthermore, 58.6% of the participants were found to hold a bachelor's degree, 48.8% were employed, and 36.1% earned less than 5000 Saudi riyals each month. Of the total patients, 36.5% were diagnosed with diabetes 1-5 years ago, while 30.5% were diagnosed 5-10 years ago. Type 1 diabetes afflicted 48.4% of participants, whereas 47.1% were affected by type 2 diabetes. It was also determined that type 2 diabetic patients have higher overall QoL scores than type 1 diabetic patients. QoL had a high mean score of 22.05±4.4. The psychological/spiritual domain has the greatest mean score of 24.06±5.4, while the social and economic domain has the lowest (20.58±4.6). The majority of participants (71.3%) did not have other chronic conditions, whereas hypertension (18%) is the prevalent comorbidity, followed by respiratory ailments (7.4%) and cardiovascular disease (3.3%). Furthermore, people with hypertension had a higher total QoL and four life domain scores than those with cardiovascular and respiratory disorders.

Conclusion

The relevance of the findings is that it could aid health practitioners in developing techniques to encourage patients to undertake self-care to improve physiological management of the condition and reduce complications.