Satisfaction with Quality of Life in older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

Purpose: To assess satisfaction with quality of life in older adults with DM2. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of older adults with DM2 receiving specialized care through Brazil's National Health System. We used a questionnaire to assess health status and collect sociodemographic data and the SF-36 to asses QoL. Data were analyzed using the R statistis software and significance level of 5%. Results: Participants were 248 older adults aged 65-94 years (mean age: 73.2 ± 6.4 years). There was a predominance of: individuals aged 70-79 years (118, 47.6%), women (140, 56.5%), married individuals (142, 57.3%), individuals with up to seven years of study (161, 64.9%), retirees (232, 93.5%), individuals with monthly income of up to two minimum wages (176, 71.0%), diagnosis duration of 1-10 years (129; 52%); foot wound (25; 10.1%); and amputation (15; 6.0%). The variables that remained related to each domain in the regression model were: physical functioning – age (p=0.007), education (p=0.015), income (p=0.006), retirement (p=0.037), DM2 duration (p=0.011); physical role limitation – income (p=0.005); pain – gender (p=0.031), income (p=0.027); vitality – age (p=0.007), race (p=0.011), gender (p=0.011), education (p=0.018); social role functioning – age (p=0.005), education (p=0.043), income (p=0.005); emotional role functioning – income (p=0.004); mental health – gender (p=0.003), income (p=0.025). Conclusion: Older adults with diabetes were less satisfied with QoL, thus demonstrating that the impact of diabetes cannot be measured solely by using clinical parameters such as glycemic control and the presence of comorbities.