Diabetes and Endocrinology Specialist Al Isawiyah General Hospital, Al Jouf Al Quarayyat, Saudi Arabia
Objective : To determine the quality of life of patients being managed in a district diabetes and endocrinology clinic in Al Jouf, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: This was a retrospective study involving patients seen in the diabetes and endocrinology clinic of the Isawiyah General Hospital, Al Jouf, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from the hospital database and included demographic characteristics and response to the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQoL-BREF) questionnaire which consenting patients fill at first presentation in the clinic. Data management and statistical analyses including reliability and validity testing of the arabic version of the WHOQoL-BREF questionnaire were done with appropriate software.
Results: Data of 582 patients consisting of 398 (68.4%) females and 184 (31.6%) males were analyzed. The mean (SD) of study participants was 55.3 (6.3) years. The endocrine disorders found in these patients include diabetes mellitus (70.6%), thyroid disorders (56.5%), hypothalamo-pituitary disorders (7.2%) and adrenal disorders (10.5%). Low quality of life occurred across the four QoL domains- physical health (51.7%), mental health (49.3%), social relations (52.6%) and environmental health (50.9%). Diabetes mellitus had the highest odds of predicting low QoL- physical health (OR=5.21, p=0.001), mental health (OR=6.01, p=0.001), social relations (OR=4.27, p=0.001) and environmental health (OR=5.01, p=0.001).
Discussion/Conclusion: Low quality of life is prevalent in patients with endocrine disorders. Diabetes mellitus has the highest odds of predicting low quality of life compared to other endocrine disorders.
