Publication

Glycemia and the quality of well-being in patients with diabetes

Journal Paper/Review - Aug 1, 2004

Units
PubMed

Citation
Tabaei B, Shill-Novak J, Brändle M, Burke R, Kaplan R, Herman W. Glycemia and the quality of well-being in patients with diabetes. Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation 2004; 13:1153-61.
Type
Journal Paper/Review (English)
Journal
Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation 2004; 13
Publication Date
Aug 1, 2004
Issn Print
0962-9343
Pages
1153-61
Brief description/objective

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the cross-sectional relationships among self-reported frequencies of symptomatic hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, HbA1c, and symptoms in the Quality of Well-Being Self-Administered (QWB-SA), and to examine the associations among these measures of glycemia and health-utility scores. METHODS: The study group included 1522 patients with diabetes who attended University of Michigan Health System clinics. Published studies were reviewed to identify symptoms in the QWB-SA that might be associated with measures of glycemia. Linear-regression analyses were performed to evaluate the strength of the associations among the frequency of self-reported measures of glycemia, QWB-SA symptoms, and QWB-SA-derived health-utility scores. RESULTS: Frequency of hyperglycemic symptoms was associated with 3% of the variance in the QWB-SA-derived health-utility score in type-1 diabetes and with 5% of the variance in type-2 diabetes. Frequency of hypoglycemic symptoms was not associated with the QWB-SA-derived health-utility score in type-1 diabetes but was associated with 1% of the variance in type-2 diabetes. HbAlc levels were not significantly associated with QWB-SA-derived health-utility scores. After controlling for age, gender, and complications, frequency of hyperglycemic symptoms was significantly associated with QWB-SA-derived health-utility scores in type-1 and type-2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Reported frequency of hyperglycemic symptoms is associated with symptoms included in the QWB-SA and with QWB-SA-derived health-utility scores. The QWB-SA may be an appropriate measure to assess the health burden of hyperglycemia.