Quality of Life in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Bulgaria: A Cross - Sectional Study

Abstract

Diabetes Mellitus is a disease that affects almost every aspect of patients' life. Socio-medical importance and continuously increasing financial costs of diabetes require a thorough research on the quality of life in these patients to optimize clinical management and increase the effectiveness of health interventions. The aim of the study is to assess the quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Materials and A cross-sectional study was conducted in 90 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Bulgaria. Health-related quality of life was measured using the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). The study result showed that the participants’ age ranged from 32 to 88 years old, with mean of 63.0 years (standard deviation (SD) 0.96). Less than half were females (52.9%), married (74.3%) and living in urban areas (61.4%). Diabetes negative impact is observed on all life aspects. The duration of disease (diabetes duration) and diabetes complication seem to be the most influential factors which negatively and statistically significant affect all the SF-36 subscales. It concluded that better quality of life of patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 is achieved by preventing complications and effective management of chronic underlying diseases.