Assessment of Factors Associated with the Quality of Life in Korean Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Objective This study assessed factors associated with the quality of life (QoL) and investigated the influence of age in 401 Korean type 2 diabetic patients. Methods The QoL was assessed using the latest version of the Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQoL) instrument in order to evaluate the perceived impact of diabetes on 19 life domains. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to measure depressive symptoms. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the associations between the factors and the ADDQoL scores in the lower quartile. The interaction terms of these factors with age strata were included to evaluate the distinctive associations across age, followed by a stratified analysis. Results According to a multivariate analysis, a positive association between depressive symptoms (BDI >= 16) and lower ADDQoL scores was consistently found across all ages. In the younger group (<60 years), insulin use (odds ratio: 4.45, 95% confidence interval: 1.29-15.33, p=0.018) and the presence of a family history of diabetes (OR: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.08-0.68, p=0.008) were independently associated with lower ADDQoL scores. However, in the older group (>= 60 years), insulin use and a family history of diabetes were not significantly associated with lower ADDQoL scores. Conclusion The findings suggest that insulin use, depressive symptoms and a family history of diabetes can be associated with the QoL in Korean type 2 diabetic patients; however, the associations show different patterns of age dependency.