A cross-sectional assessment of health-related quality of life among type 2 diabetes patients in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Objective: This study aimed to describe the health-related quality of life profile among type 2 diabetes patients in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Method: A cross-sectional study was undertaken using a cohort of 75 patients attending the University Diabetic Centre at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. EuroQoL-5 dimension (EQ-5D) scale was used for the assessment of health-related quality of life. EQ-5D was scored using values derived from the UK general population survey. Inferential statistics were applied to evaluate associations between study variables. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0 was used for data analysis; p <0.05 was set as the level of statistical significance. Results: Fifty-eight (77.35%) respondents were male with a mean 12.6 +/- 8.4 years of history of diabetes. Thirty-four (45.3%) were categorised into the age group of 45-55 years with a mean age of 54 +/- 9.2 years. Forty-four (58.7%) were using oral hypoglycaemic agents and 40 (53.3%) had a university level of education. A moderate level of health-related quality of life (0.70 +/- 0.22) was measured in the study cohort. Gender was significantly associated with health-related quality of life scores (p = 0.001). The mean EQ-5D score was lower in females compared to male patients (0.58 +/- 0.23 vs 0.74 +/- 0.20). There were no statistically significant associations between health-related quality of life scores and age groups, duration of diabetes, marital status, educational level and type of treatment. Conclusion: This study has highlighted that Saudi diabetes patients have low levels of health-related quality of life. Healthcare professionals need to consider this when planning holistic patient treatment approaches.