Quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes in Poland - comparison with the general population using the EQ-5D questionnaire.
BACKGROUND
Complications of type 2 diabetes (T2D) lead to increased mortality and reduced quality of life (QOL).


OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to compare health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Polish patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and in a matched sample from the general population.


METHODS
Data on HRQoL came from two non-interventional studies: a prospective study of patients with T2D and an EQ-5D study of Polish general population norms. The HRQoL analysis was conducted in four separate age groups: 32-44, 45-54, 55-64 and over 65 years old. We analyzed both subjective and objective assessment of HRQoL (EQ VAS and EQ-5D index) and the presence of restrictions within five dimensions of the EQ-5D descriptive part.


RESULTS
A total of 274 patients with T2D and 214 representatives from the study of population norms were included. EQ VAS was systematically lower in diabetic patients as compared to the general population and decreased with age (68.2 vs 83.9, 62.4 vs 79.2; 54.9 vs 78.1, 50.2 vs 69.8 in consecutive age groups). A similar relationship was observed with the EQ-5D index. The largest mean differences were observed among subjects aged 55-64 years (EQ VAS: 23.2, EQ-5D index: 0.085). In three domains, i.e. self-care, usual activities and anxiety/depression, patients with diabetes who were over 45 years of age reported significantly more problems than respondents from the general population.


CONCLUSIONS
Both subjective and objective HRQoL in patients with T2D was lower than in respondents similar in age from the general population. Compared with type 2 diabetic populations from other countries, Polish patients are characterized by relatively high HRQoL objective assessment and very low subjective assessment.
Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland.
Dominik
D
Golicki
Department of Endocrinology, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.
Marta
M
Dudzińska
Department of Endocrinology, Medical University of Lublin, Poland; Chair of Internal Medicine and Department of Internal Medicine in Nursing, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.
Agnieszka
A
Zwolak
Department of Endocrinology, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.
Jerzy S
JS
Tarach
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012648:Self Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires