Quality of life and compliance among type 2 diabetic patients

A cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the quality of life (QOL) and compliance among type 2 diabetic patients in Saraburi Province, Thailand. Compliance was assessed by evaluatiing dietary intake and life style patterns useful for diabetes patients to maintain health and prevent complications of the disease. A multistage sampling technique was used for selecting patients from 2 districts (Wihan Daeng and Nong Don) and subjects were classified into 2 groups according to a quality of life (QOL) score (good = 70, poor to moderate = 94) using WHOQOL-BREF-THAI criteria. Data were collected from September to December 2007 using a self-administered questionnaire. Simple descriptive statistics were used to provide basic information about the two groups and for analytical purposes the chisquare test and multiple logistic regression were applied. The majority (78.7%) of study participants were females. Most patients belonged to the age groups of either ≥ 50 years (50%) or 40-49 years (36.6%). Bivariate analysis revealed socio-demographic factors were not significantly associated with QOL (p>0.05). As far as compliance was concerned dietary control and drug intake were significantly associated with QOL (p<0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that overall compliance was associated with QOL (OR = 1.91, 95% Cl = 1.02-3.57). We conclude that good QOL is significantly related to good compliance. Therefore, diabetic patients should be made aware that following the suggestions to prevent side effects of the disease and trying to stay healthy despite suffering from the disease will significantly improve their QOL.