Quality of life in the elderly with diabetes and its related factors

Background and Objective: The elderly population has increased in recent years. With age, the prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes also increases. Physiological, psychological, and social changes in old age, as well as the occurrence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, can affect the quality of life of the elderly. Therefore, this study was performed to determine the quality of life in the elderly with diabetes and its relationship with some factors. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was performed on ۱۳۰ elderlies with diabetes referred to endocrinology clinics affiliated with Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. Sampling was performed in an easy and accessible method. The data collection tool included a ۳۶-item short-form survey (SF۳۶). This questionnaire has two subscales of physical health and mental health. The lowest score on each subscale is zero and the highest score is ۱۰۰, and a higher score is a better quality of life. An average of ۵۰ with a standard deviation of ۱۰ (۵۰ ± ۱۰) was considered as a standard and acceptable indicator for the quality of life of the elderly. Data analysis was performed using SPSS ۲۲ software. For descriptive statistics, mean ± standard deviation, and analytical statistics, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used. Findings: The majority of study participants were female (۵۶.۲%) and with a history of more than ۱۰ years of diabetes. An average score of quality of life in the elderly with diabetes was on the subscales of physical health (۴۴.۷۴±۱۹.۲۶) and mental health (۴۷.۹۲± ۱۵.۶۸). Quality of life in the physical health subscale had a statistically significant relationship with age (P = ۰.۰۰۰۱), gender (P = ۰.۰۱۵) and duration of diabetes (P = ۰.۰۰۳). Quality of life in the mental health subscale was statistically significantly related to age (P = ۰.۰۰۲) and duration of diabetes (P = ۰.۰۰۲) but was not significantly related to gender (P = ۰.۳۷۴); However, the quality of life score was lower in females. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the quality of life of the elderly with diabetes was lower than the standard level in the physical health and mental health subscales. quality of life in the elderly with diabetes was related to increasing age and duration of diabetes and female gender. The results of this study can help policymakers in this area to make future plans to improve the quality of life of the elderly with diabetes.

Keywords:

quality of life , elderly , diabetes , physical health , mental health