Well-being and treatment satisfaction in older people with diabetes.
OBJECTIVE
To measure well-being and treatment satisfaction and their correlates in older people with diabetes.


METHODS
A postal survey was conducted of 1,000 diabetic patients aged > or = 60 years, representing 56% of the resident older diabetic population in an inner-city health district with a largely indigenous population of 230,000 people and a widely varied socioeconomic mix. Well-being and treatment satisfaction were measured with diabetes-specific instruments and correlated with patient data held in a central register.


RESULTS
There was an 81% response. The general well-being scores (median [interquartile range]) for patients on diet alone, tablets, and insulin were 54 (44-60), 53 (42-61), and 48 (35-56) (P < 0.001 comparing insulin with diet and tablets) compared with a scale maximum of 66. Treatment satisfaction scores were 35 (31-36), 35 (32-36), and 34 (30-36) (P < 0.001 comparing insulin with diet and tablets), scale maximum 36. Mean HbA1c concentrations were 5.0 +/- 1.4% (for patients on diet alone), 5.8 +/- 1.6% (tablets), and 6.6 +/- 1.7% (insulin) (P < 0.001 for each difference). Neither well-being nor treatment satisfaction correlated with HbA1c. Insulin-treated patients were younger and had been diabetic longer than non-insulin-treated patients; their well-being remained slightly, but significantly, lower when adjusted for age, sex, BMI, and diabetes duration, but treatment satisfaction was no longer significantly different. Women had lower well-being than men.


CONCLUSIONS
It has proved possible to measure well-being and treatment satisfaction in a large community-based samples of older people with diabetes. At the level of glycemic control in this population, neither parameter correlated with HbA1c. The lower well-being in insulin-treated patients remained significant in multivariate analysis.
Petterson
T
T
Department of Geriatric Medicine, Hope Hospital, Salford, Manchester, U.K.
Lee
P
P
Hollis
S
S
Young
B
B
Newton
P
P
Dornan
T
T
D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D003710:Demography; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007328:Insulin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin