Abstract
Background & objectives: An ideal instrument for the assessment of health related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with diabetes mellitus type I (T1DM) should incorporate the benefits of both generic and disease-specific instruments. The objective of this study was to investigate the responsiveness and the ability to provide information about diabetes-specific associations with HRQOL, of two generic instruments, in comparison with two diabetes-specific instruments, in patients with T1DM. Methods: In a Dutch cohort of 234 patients with T1DM we longitudinally assessed HRQOL using both generic and diabetes-specific instruments. We investigated the responsiveness, the associations with diabetes-specific variables and the identification of specific patients by the instruments used. Results: The generic RAND-36 was able to detect statistically significant and clinically relevant changes in HRQOL over time. Moreover, the RAND-36 was associated with (changes in) diabetes-specific variables. The generic and diabetes-specific instruments partly identified different patients with lowest HRQOL. Interpretation & conclusion: The RAND-36 was highly responsive to changes in HRQOL in patients with T1DM and revealed diabetes-specific associations with HRQOL. A low correlation between the generic and diabetes-specific instruments and partly different identification of patients with lower HRQOL support the complementary use of these instruments in patients with T1DM.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 203-216 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | The Indian Journal of Medical Research |
| Volume | 125 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2007 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Adult
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/complications
- Female
- Health Status
- Humans
- Hypoglycemia/prevention & control
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Patient Care Team
- Quality of Life
- Retrospective Studies
- Surveys and Questionnaires