ABSTRACT
AIMS: To investigate the health-related quality of life of patients with diabetes mellitus in Singapore and its associations with diabetes-related characteristics and glycaemic control. METHODS: An interviewer-administered, cross-sectional survey was conducted in a sample of 301 adult diabetes patients under primary care. The survey questionnaire included both a generic health-related quality of life measure, the Euroqol 5-D and a diabetes-specific instrument, the Audit of Diabetes-dependent Quality of Life. Patients' most recent HbA(1c) values were extracted from their medical records. RESULTS: After excluding patients who lacked the 90-day HbA(1c) test result, the final number of responses analysed was 282. Pain/discomfort was the most common complaint among the five Euroqol 5-D domains (by 28.0% of the respondents). Lack of freedom to eat was the Audit of Diabetes-dependent Quality of Life domain with the greatest negative average weighted impact (= -3.8, on a scale of -9 to 3). A significant association was observed between Audit of Diabetes-dependent Quality of Life average weighted impact and both duration of diabetes and use of insulin. A negative correlation was found between health-related quality of life and HbA(1c) values in both health-related quality of life measures (both r=-0.2, P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with diabetes in primary-care settings frequently reported problems with pain/discomfort and restrictions in diet. Poorer health-related quality of life was found to be associated with higher HbA(1c) values. The chronicity of diabetes and insulin therapy may have a negative impact on patients' diabetes-related health-related quality of life. This study indicates the importance of achieving better disease management to improve the health-related quality of life of patients with diabetes.
Subject(s)
Blood Glucose/metabolism , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/therapy , Quality of Life , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Chronic Pain/etiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Depression/etiology , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/blood , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/epidemiology , Female , Glycated Hemoglobin/metabolism , Humans , Hypoglycemic Agents/therapeutic use , Insulin/therapeutic use , Male , Middle Aged , Prognosis , Singapore/epidemiology , Socioeconomic Factors , Young AdultABSTRACT
A lesion in the upper abdominal wall of a 10-year-old boy had been excised twice at the age of 3 years at another hospital but the lesion recurred shortly thereafter. We completely excised this lesion and histological examination showed the presence of heterotopic gastric mucosa and pancreatic tissue in the skin of the abdominal wall.
