Impact of geriatric syndrome on the quality of life of elderly diabetic patients in community / 中华全科医师杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the impact of geriatric syndromes (GS) on the quality of life in community-dwelling elderly patients with diabetes.Methods:A questionnaire survey was conducted among 326 diabetes patients aged ≥60 years in Shanghai Caohejing Community Health Service Center of Fengxian District from September to December 2020. The questionnaire contained 8 items of GS (polypharmacy, falls, chronic pain, incontinence, depression, malnutrition, daily life ability defects, cognitive dysfunction) and quality of life of patients. Multiple linear regression and hierarchical regression analysis were used to identify the influencing factors of quality of life and the impact of GS explained on the quality of life.Results:A total of 326 questionnaires were distributed, 304 valid questionnaires were retrieved with a valid recovery rate of 93.3%. The prevalence of GS in the participants was 78.6% (239/304). The most common three types of GS were chronic pain 43.4% (132/304), polypharmacy (128/304) and depression 37.2% (113/304). The overall health score was the lowest and their mental health score was the highest (32.5±19.9 and 71.6±19.0, respectively). The cumulative effect of GS attributed to 23.8% of the variance in the Physical Component Summary (PCS) and 34.0% of the variance in the Mental Component Summary (MCS), respectively. The number of GS was negatively correlated with PCS ( r=-0.584, P<0.001) and MCS ( r=-0.340, P<0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that age, chronic pain score and activities of daily living score were the influencing factors for PCS ( P<0.05). The course of diabetes, PHQ-9 score, activities of daily living score and malnutrition score were the influencing factors of MCS ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The survey shows that the prevalence of GS in community-dwelling elderly diabetic patients is high, and the cumulative effect of GS on the quality of life is relatively large. Chronic pain and daily life ability defects can affect PCS, while depression, daily life ability defects and malnutrition can affect MCS in diabetic patients.