Assessment of health-related quality of life in Egyptian adolescents with type 1 diabetes: DEMPU survey.

BACKGROUND: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a serious chronic illness that imposes significant morbidity and mortality with a major impact on the quality of life (QoL) that became a core issue in diabetes care. Understanding the effect of diabetes on QoL is important for day-to-day clinical management and also for public health policy initiatives aiming at improving health outcomes for those with diabetes. The objective of the study was to assess the QoL in adolescents with T1D and assess the applicability of the use of the "Quality of Life for Youth" questionnaire at the Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolism Pediatric Unit (DEMPU) clinic.

METHODS: One hundred and fifty adolescents (82 males and 68 females) (10-18 years), with T1D of at least 1 years' duration, completed the questionnaire that evaluated symptoms related to diabetes, treatment, activities, parent issues, worries about diabetes and health perception. Higher scores indicated a more negative impact of diabetes and poorer QoL.

RESULTS: Males showed a significantly better mean QoL score than females (p=0.004). Different age groups showed different QoL scores (p=0.047). Urban adolescents had a better QoL than rural counterparts (p=0.02). Adolescents with poor QoL had generally lower educational level (p=0.02). Better metabolic control was associated with a better QoL (p=0.01). However, duration of diabetes and body mass index (BMI) had no statistically significant effect on QoL.

CONCLUSIONS: QoL had a variable significant association with certain socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of diabetics (sex, residence, educational level as well as metabolic control).