Assessment of health-related quality of life among adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus in Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 214 adolescents (13-18 years) with T1DM at the Diabetes Treatment Center, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from June to September 2013. Respondents were selected by their availability during routine visits to outpatient clinics, and interviewed using the Arabic translated version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 3.0 Diabetes Module (PedsQL 3.0 DM) independently.

RESULTS: Female gender, multiple daily injection (MDI), longer duration of T1DM (>7 years), diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and adolescents with >7 HbA1c level had at least one poor HRQoL outcome. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that age, treatment type (MDI), DKA, and >7 HbA1c were independent influencing factors for subscale diabetes symptoms, whereas >7 HbA1c was the independent influencing factor for treatment barriers and overall HRQoL. The DKA was the independent influencing factor for the subscale of worry, and female gender was the independent influencing factor for the subscale of communication.

CONCLUSION: Female gender, age, treatment type, >7 HbA1c, and DKA are the strongest determinants for lower HRQoL for at least one subscale of the PedsQL 3.0 DM.