title: Glycaemic control and quality of life among ethnically diverse Malaysian diabetic patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the relationship between glycaemic control and quality of life (QoL) among a sample of Malaysians with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study is a cross-sectional hospital-based study involving 256 patients from three major ethnic groups in Malaysia. Data about QoL were collected with the 18-item Audit of Diabetes Dependent QoL questionnaire. Other data about putative predictors of QoL including personal characteristics and disease-related factors were also collected. Hierarchical multiple linear regression was used to determine factors associated with QoL and to control for confounding variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of participants was 56.79 years. Participants were mostly women, employed and married and had attained secondary education. More than a third of the patients had a disease duration of more than 10 years, and about two-thirds had HbA1c ≥ 6.5 %. Those with desired glycaemic control had poorer QoL than those with less than desired glycaemic control moderated by the use of insulin. Hierarchical multiple linear regression showed that desired glycaemic control (HbA1c), diabetes worry, use of insulin, more than 10 years' duration of diabetes, neuropathy and retinopathy were associated with poor QoL, whereas being satisfied with waiting time for consultation was associated with better QoL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study show that diabetes was associated with negative impact on quality of life. The use of insulin to achieve desired glycaemic control was particularly associated with negative impact on QoL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, National Defence University of Malaysia, Sungai Besi Camp, 57000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Aqil702001@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Aqil Mohammad
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Daher
authors.forename: Syed Ahmad H
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: AlMashoor
authors.forename: Than
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Winn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000187:drug effects*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin