Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a significant outcome indicator for diabetes mellitus (DM) management. This study was conducted to assess the HRQOL of patients with type 2 DM, and to detect the effects of the associated socioeconomic and disease-specific variables as there has been little research on them in Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study involving 340 patients attending primary health care centers in Qassim region. For data collection, a structured questionnaire and SF-36 HRQOL tools were used.
Results: The highest total mean HRQOL score was reported for general health perception (52.9%), and the lowest was reported for role-emotional (28.3%). Mean scores for the mental health domains were lower than those for the physical health domains. Of the significant variables in the detection of low HRQOL score, the variable "low education" predominated in the majority of domains. The variables; female and co-morbidities,
predominated in the physical health domain of general health (adjusted OR: 9.5) and the domain role-emotional (adjusted OR: 9.5 and 8.9, respectively).
Conclusion: Patients with type-2 DM in Qassim showed low self-perceived HRQOL, and to address this, the study recommended planning and implementation of DM educational programs targeting low educated groups and females with a focus on the risk of co-morbidities.
Key words: Type-2 diabetes mellitus, health-related quality of life, socioeconomic factors, Saudi Arabia
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