ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the relationship between the syndrome types differentiated by traditional Chinese medicine and the quality of life (QOL) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The QOL in patients was investigated with Short Form-36 questionnaire (SF-36), and compared with that of healthy subjects for control; the TCM syndrome type was differentiated at the same time by the outcomes of symptoms acquired from the questionnaire.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The score of all the domains of QOL was respectively lower in the DM patients than that in the healthy subjects. The score of some domains of QOL showed correlation with different TCM syndrome types.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>QOL of DM patients significantly decreased. The variation of syndrome types could significantly influence some domains of QOL.</p>