Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2010 Jan 13:10:12.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-12.

Diabetes mellitus and hypertension have comparable adverse effects on health-related quality of life

Tamara Poljicanin  1 , Dea Ajduković, Mario Sekerija, Mirjana Pibernik-Okanović, Zeljko Metelko, Gorka Vuletić Mavrinac
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Diabetes mellitus and hypertension have comparable adverse effects on health-related quality of life

Tamara Poljicanin et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: We aimed to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among people with diabetes or hypertension, estimate the effect of cardiovascular comorbidities on HRQoL as well as compare HRQoL in these groups with that of healthy individuals.

Methods: A total of 9,070 respondents aged 18 years and over were assessed for HRQoL. Data were obtained from the Croatian Adult Health Survey. Respondents were divided into five groups according to their medical history: participants with hypertension (RR), hypertension and cardiovascular comorbidities (RR+), diabetes mellitus (DM), diabetes and cardiovascular comorbidities (DM+) and participants free of these conditions (healthy individuals, HI). HRQoL was assessed on 8 dimensions of the SF-36 questionnaire.

Results: Participants with diabetes and those with hypertension reported comparably limited (p > 0.05) HRQoL in all dimensions of SF-36, compared with healthy individuals (p < 0.05). If cardiovascular comorbidities were present, both participants with diabetes and participants with hypertension had lower results on all SF-36 scales (p > 0.05) than participants without such comorbidities (p < 0.05). The results remained after adjustment for sociodemographic variables (age, sex, employment, financial status and education).

Conclusion: Diabetes and hypertension seem to comparably impair HRQoL. Cardiovascular comorbidities further reduce HRQoL in participants with both chronic conditions. Future research of interventions aimed at improving these participants' HRQoL is needed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Rubin RR, Peyrot M. Quality of life and diabetes. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 1999;15(3):205–218. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1520-7560(199905/06)15:3<205::AID-DMRR29>3.0.CO;2-O. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wandell PE. Quality of life of patients with diabetes mellitus. An overview of research in primary health care in the Nordic countries. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2005;23(2):68–74. doi: 10.1080/02813430510015296. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Saito I, Inami F, Ikebe T, Moriwaki C, Tsubakimoto A, Yonemasu K, Ozawa H. Impact of diabetes on health-related quality of life in a population study in Japan. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2006;73(1):51–57. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2005.11.015. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Stewart AL, Greenfield S, Hays RD, Wells K, Rogers WH, Berry SD, McGlynn EA, Ware JE Jr. Functional status and well-being of patients with chronic conditions. Results from the Medical Outcomes Study. JAMA. 1989;262(7):907–913. doi: 10.1001/jama.262.7.907. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wandell PE, Brorsson B, Aberg H. Quality of life in diabetic patients registered with primary health care services in Sweden. Scand J Prim Health Care. 1997;15(2):97–102. doi: 10.3109/02813439709018495. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types