Is Level of injury a determinant of quality of life among individuals with spinal cord injury? a tertiary rehabilitation center report

Objectives: The role of injury-related variables in determining health-related quality of life [HRQOL] among Iranian persons with spinal cord injury [SCI] has not yet been fully described. In this study, we compared HRQOL between individuals with injury at cervical level and those with injury at thoracolumbar sections and evaluated the discriminating value of injury level as a determinant of HRQOL among Iranian people with SCI

Methods: Individuals with SCI, who were referred to Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, were invited to participate in this investigation. HRQOL was assessed using the Short Form [SF-36] questionnaire to determine the quality of life [QOL] in eight domains: physical functioning [PF], role limitation due to physical problems [RP], bodily pain [BP], general health [GH], vitality [VT], social functioning [SF], role limitation due to emotional problems [RE], and mental health [MH]

Results: Ninety patients with paraplegia and 94 quadriplegic patients participated in this investigation. The mean score of PF domain was significantly lower in patients with injury at cervical level [p < 0.0001]. There was no significant difference in other domains of SF-36 between subjects with paraplegia and quadriplegia [p = 0.670, 0.700, 0.910, 0.710, 0.730, 0.290 and 0.850 for RP, RE, VT, MH, SF, BP and GH, respectively]. Similarly, the mean physical component summary [PCS] score was significantly higher among individuals with injury at thoracolumbar sections [p < 0.0001]. The mean mental component summary [MCS] score did not differ between the two groups [p = 0.720]

Conclusions: Patients with SCI at the cervical level have similar mental health compared to those with injury at thoracolumbar sections, which shows proper mental adaptability in quadriplegic individuals. Injury level can be used as a major determinant of the physical component of QOL among people with SCI

Comparison of Attitudes Regarding Quality of Life between Insulin-Treated Subjects with Diabetes Mellitus and Healthy Populations

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease and one of the main causes of mortality in developing countries. The main objective of treating all chronic diseases, of course, is to improve well-being and attain a satisfactory quality of life (QOL). The major goal of this study is comparison of attitude toward QOL in insulin-dependent subjects with diabetes mellitus and healthy subjects. METHODS: In this study, insulin-dependent subjects with diabetes mellitus and healthy subjects were gathered via convenience sampling. The subjects were asked to complete the Hanestad & Albrektsen Attitude to Quality of Life Questionnaire. The questionnaire evaluates five quality of life dimensions-physical, social, mental-emotional, behavioral-activity, and economic-using a scoring system similar to the Likert scale. The Wilcoxon test was used to compare scores between the two groups. RESULTS: The mean total score on attitude toward QOL in the healthy control group was 53.8, and it in the insulin-dependent subjects with diabetes mellitus group was 35.9. The mean total score of attitude toward QOL in the physical dimension, mental-emotional and feelings of well-being dimension, and behavioral-activity dimension were significantly higher in the healthy population than they were in diabetes mellitus groups. Such a difference was not seen in the social and economic dimensions. CONCLUSION: Since the attitudes of insulin-dependent subjects with diabetes mellitus toward QOL are used as an index of individual and societal health levels, it appears that this group may benefit from education and professional counseling to improve their QOLs.