Depression, Anxiety and Quality of Life Among Adult Turkish Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate quality of life, depression, and anxiety and to determine the variables of illness and sociodemographic features among type 1 diabetic patients and to compare with control subjects. Material and Method: The Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire for measuring quality of life (QOL), The Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were administered to 58 diabetic patients and 58 control subject (Mean age: 31.9 +/- 8.5 and 31.8 +/- 7.4 years, respectively; p=0.926) 53.4% of patients were female in diabetic group and 51.7% in control group (p=0.852). Results: There was a negative correlation between the number of insulin injections and A1c (r=-295, p=0.025). There was no association of components of SF-36, BDI and STAI-TX scores with the number of injections, frequency of glucose measurements, and duration of illness. Body mass index negatively correlated with physical function component of SF-36 (r=-267, p=0.043). A1c positively correlated with BDI scores (r=297, p=0.024). According to frequency of hypoglycemia, patients experiencing hypoglycemia everyday had lower score for pain than patients who had less frequent hypoglycemia (p=0.027). Subjects having hypoglycemia once a month or less had the highest vitality score (p=0.019). Social function scores were significantly lower among patients who had experienced a diabetic coma than in those with no history of a diabetic coma (59.9 +/- 25.8 vs 75 +/- 19, p=0.022). STAI-TX scores were slightly significantly found to be higher among patients having a history of hospitalisation than in patients without a history of hospitalisation (STAITX- I: 60.2 +/- 9.7 vs 52.8 +/- 6.9, p=0.045; STAI-TX-II: 45.2 +/- 9.7 vs 37.8 +/- 6.9, p=0.045, respectively). Discussion: Diabetic patients are more likely to have depression, anxiety and to have deterioration of QOL. These patients should be observed carefully during their follow-up in terms of depression, anxiety and QOL.