Quality of life in type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients prior to and after pancreas and kidney transplantation in relation to organ function

Abstract

Improvement of the quality of life in Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients with severe late complications is one of the main goals of pancreas and/or kidney grafting. To assess the influences of these treatment modalities on the different aspects of the quality of life a cross-sectional study in 157 patients was conducted. They were categorized into patients pretransplant without dialysis (n = 29; Group A), pretransplant under dialysis (n = 44; Group B), posttransplant with pancreas and kidney functioning (n = 31; Group C), post-transplant with functioning kidney, but insulin therapy (n = 29; Group D), post-transplant under dialysis and insulin therapy again (n = 15; Group E) and patients after single pancreas transplantation and rejection, with good renal function, but insulin therapy (n = 9; Group F). All patients answered a mailed, self-administered questionnaire (217 questions) consisting of a broad spectrum of rehabilitation criteria. The results indicate a better quality of life in Groups C and D as compared to the other groups. In general the scores are highest in C, but without any significant difference to D. Impressive significant differences between C or D and the other groups were found especially in their satisfaction with physical capacity, leisure-time activities or the overall quality of life.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)