title: Quality of life in CAPD, transplant, and chronic renal failure patients with diabetes.
abstract: Although quality of life (QoL) is an important outcome measure, there are few studies of QoL in diabetic patients. We performed a cross-sectional study to assess QoL in such patients comparable for age, sex, and co-morbidity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Group CAPD: DM (n = 19, 12 males), diabetic CAPD patients; group CAPD: no DM (n = 26, 15 males) CAPD patients without diabetes; group TXP (n = 20, 10 males), diabetic transplant patients; and group CKD: DM (n = 20, 11 males), diabetics with chronic kidney disease. Two valid QoL instruments were used: a generic one (SF-36) and one that is disease-specific (RQLP).
  
  
  RESULTS
  As a whole, CAPD patients scored badly as far as concerned the physical domain, but with a good mental adaptation. Diabetic CAPD patients exhibited worse QoL for physical functioning, energy, vitality, leisure activity, and eating/drinking limitations. Diabetic transplant patients exhibited the best QoL. The RQLP instrument had better discriminative power for domains such as eating/drinking, treatment effects, and psychosocial aspects. Using analysis of co-variance and adjusting for age, sex, and co-morbidity, QoL differences disappeared. In conclusion, diabetic CAPD patients exhibited the worst QoL though with a satisfactory mental adaptation, a renal-specific instrument had better discriminative power, and the prevention of co-morbidity is likely to improve QoL in such patients.
authors: Evangelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece. tapostolou@ath.forthnet.gr
authors: Theofanis
authors: T
authors: Apostolou
authors: Alastair J
authors: AJ
authors: Hutchison
authors: Andrew J M
authors: AJ
authors: Boulton
authors: Willy
authors: W
authors: Chak
authors: Loretta
authors: L
authors: Vileikyte
authors: Linda
authors: L
authors: Uttley
authors: Ram
authors: R
authors: Gokal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015897:Comorbidity; D003710:Demography; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D018579:Patient Selection; D010531:Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012919:Social Behavior