Longitudinal assessment of the health-related quality of life among older people with diabetes: results of a nationwide study in New Zealand

• Published in: BMC endocrine disorders Vol. 20; no. 1; p. 32
• Main Authors: Shamshirgaran, Seyed Morteza, Stephens, Christine, Alpass, Fiona, Aminisani, Nayyereh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 05-03-2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adults; Age; Alcohol; Analysis; Chronic diseases; Chronic illnesses; Community-dwelling; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetics; Diseases; Elderly; Endocrine disorders; Epidemiology; Health; Hypertension; Longitudinal studies; Longitudinal study; Metabolism; Older adults; Older people; Population; Quality of life; Sleep disorders; Time; Variables; New Zealand; Germany; Community-dwelling; Older adults; Diabetes mellitus; Longitudinal study; Quality of life
• ISSN: 1472-6823; 1472-6823
• DOI: 10.1186/s12902-020-0519-4

The current work examined experiences of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) among older adults with a diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) over time compared to those without a diagnoses DM.
The sample was drawn from six biennial waves of the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement survey, a prospective population-based cohort study of older adults 55-70 years at baseline. Data on sociodemographic factors, health behaviours, chronic disease diagnoses and physical and mental HRQOL (SF-12v2) were obtained using six biennial surveys administered 2006-2016. Generalised Estimating Equation models, adjusted for time-constant and -varying factors, were employed to compare HRQOL and its determinants over time for older adults with and without a diagnosis of DM.
DM was negatively associated with physical HRQOL [β (95% CI) - 7.43 (- 8.41, - 6.44)] with older adults affected by DM reporting scores 7.4 points lower than those without DM. Similarly, the mean Mental HRQOL score was lower among those affected by DM [β = - 4.97 (- 5.93, - 4.01)] however, scores increased over time for both groups (p < 0.001). Greater age, more chronic conditions, sight and sleep problems, obesity, lower annual income, and fewer years of education were predictors of poorer HRQOL among older adults.
Older adults affected by diabetes experienced poorer physical and mental HRQOL compared to those not affected when controlling for a range of sociodemographic and health related indices. A management aim must be to minimise the gap between two groups, particularly as people age.