The association of cardiovascular disease with impaired health-related quality of life among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of Malaysian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who have cardiovascular disease (CVD), as well as identify the determinants of HRQoL among this cohort of patients.


METHODS
This study was an analytical cross-sectional study involving 313 patients aged 30-78 years (150 men, 163 women; mean age 55.7 ± 9.2 years) who were diagnosed with T2DM (mean duration of T2DM 10.1 ± 8.1 years) at two tertiary Malaysian government hospitals. The patients' sociodemographic, lifestyle, clinical and laboratory data were collected prospectively from medical records and via face-to-face interviews. HRQoL was assessed using the 15D instrument - a generic, 15-dimensional and standardised measure of HRQoL that can be used as both a profile and a single index score measure.


RESULTS
T2DM patients with CVD were found to have significantly lower 15D HRQoL scores than their nonCVD counterparts (p < 0.001). The HRQoL of T2DM patients with CVD was significantly lower than those without CVD (p < 0.05) in all of the 15 dimensions of the 15D instrument. Multinomial logistic regression analysis using backward stepwise method revealed a significant association between CVD and impaired HRQoL (odds ratio [OR] 11.746, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.898-28.167). Age (OR 1.095, 95% CI 1.054-1.137), duration of T2DM (OR 1.085, 95% CI 1.032-1.140), ethnicity (OR 0.411, 95% CI 0.187-0.903), body mass index (OR 1.074, 95% CI 1.006-1.148), and physical activity level (OR 3.506, 95% CI 1.415-8.689) were also significant predictors of HRQoL.


CONCLUSIONS
In T2DM patients, the presence of CVD was significantly associated with a lower HRQoL. Therefore, the importance of tertiary prevention to minimise the potential deterioration of the HRQoL of T2DM patients with CVD should be highly emphasised.
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. mun_chieng_tan@yahoo.com.
Mun Chieng
MC
Tan
Ooi Chuan
OC
Ng
Teck Wee
TW
Wong
Abdul Rahman
AR
Hejar
Joseph
J
Anthony
Harri
H
Sintonen
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers