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. 2018 Jul 27:12:1347-1354.
doi: 10.2147/PPA.S162892. eCollection 2018.

Health-related quality of life in elderly diabetic outpatients in Vietnam

Huong Thi Thu Nguyen  1   2 , Mackenzie Pi Moir  3 , Thanh Xuan Nguyen  2   4 , Anh Phuong Vu  5 , Long Hoang Luong  2   4 , Tam Ngoc Nguyen  1   2 , Long Hoang Nguyen  6 , Bach Xuan Tran  7   8 , Tung Thanh Tran  9 , Carl A Latkin  8 , Melvyn Wb Zhang  10 , Roger Cm Ho  11 , Huyen Thanh Thi Vu  1   2
Affiliations

Health-related quality of life in elderly diabetic outpatients in Vietnam

Huong Thi Thu Nguyen et al. Patient Prefer Adherence. .

Abstract

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important indicator for designing care and treatment services for patients with diabetes. This is especially true given its rapid increase among the elderly population in Vietnam. HRQoL data in elderly diabetic Vietnamese are currently limited. This study aimed to 1) measure the HRQoL of elderly patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Vietnam and 2) identify related factors and their relationship with HRQoL.

Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. We recruited 171 patients aged ≥60 years with T2DM at the Outpatient Department, National Geriatric Hospital from June to November 2015. Patients were asked to evaluate their health status using the EuroQol Five Dimensions Three Levels (EQ-5D-3L) and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Sociodemographic, diabetic treatment, and management characteristics were collected. Multivariate Tobit regression was used to determine which factors were associated with HRQoL, and the strength of this relationship.

Results: Patients reported some problems in all areas of the EQ-5D: pain/discomfort (50.9%), mobility (33.3%), anxiety/depression (24.0%), usual activities (21.1%), and self-care (10.5%). The mean EQ-5D index score was 0.80 (SD=0.20), and the mean EQ-VAS was 57.5 (SD=14.4). Patients who were male, lived in an urban area, could afford treatment, were taking fewer medications, and monitored blood pressure often (1-4 times a week) had a higher EQ-5D index when compared to other groups. Meanwhile, a longer duration of diabetes and older age were negatively associated with the EQ-5D index. Patients with any comorbidity had lower VAS scores than their counterparts.

Conclusion: The presence of diabetes and comorbidity were responsible for a significant decrease in HRQoL. Screening and identifying health problems, providing prompt treatment, and facilitating self-management among patients have the potential to increase diabetic patients' HRQoL.

Keywords: Vietnam; diabetes; elder; quality of life.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
HRQoL of participants described with the EQ-5D-3L instrument. Abbreviations: HRQoL, health-related quality of life; EQ-5D-3L, EuroQol Five Dimensions Three Levels.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean EQ-VAS score for age groups. Abbreviation: EQ-VAS, EuroQol Visual Analog Scale.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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