Correlates of Quality-of-Life in Older Adults With Diabetes: The Diabetes & Aging Stu

Sysop · June 3rd, 2011, 09:30 AM

OBJECTIVETo evaluate associations between health-related quality-of-life (HRQL) and geriatric syndromes, diabetes complications, and hypoglycemia in older adults with diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSA race-stratified random sample of 6,317 adults with type 2 or type 1 diabetes, aged 60 to 75 years, enrolled in Kaiser Permanente Northern California, who completed a survey which included a HRQL instrument based on the Short Form 8-item health survey. Administrative records were used to ascertain diagnoses of geriatric syndromes, diabetes complications, and hypoglycemia. Associations were estimated between HRQL and exposures in exposure-specific and combined exposure models (any syndrome, any complication, or hypoglycemia). Conservatively, differences of ≥3 points were considered the minimally important difference in HRQL scores.
RESULTS
HRQL was lower with nearly all exposures of interest. The lowest physical HRQL was associated with amputation. In combined exposure models, geriatric syndromes (–5.3 [95% CI –5.8 to –4.8], P < 0.001) and diabetes complications (–3.5 [–4.0 to –2.9], P < 0.001) were associated with lower physical HRQL. The lowest mental HRQL was associated with depression, underweight (BMI

June 3rd, 2011, 09:30 AM	#1
Sysop Administrator Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 83	Correlates of Quality-of-Life in Older Adults With Diabetes: The Diabetes & Aging Stu OBJECTIVETo evaluate associations between health-related quality-of-life (HRQL) and geriatric syndromes, diabetes complications, and hypoglycemia in older adults with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSA race-stratified random sample of 6,317 adults with type 2 or type 1 diabetes, aged 60 to 75 years, enrolled in Kaiser Permanente Northern California, who completed a survey which included a HRQL instrument based on the Short Form 8-item health survey. Administrative records were used to ascertain diagnoses of geriatric syndromes, diabetes complications, and hypoglycemia. Associations were estimated between HRQL and exposures in exposure-specific and combined exposure models (any syndrome, any complication, or hypoglycemia). Conservatively, differences of ≥3 points were considered the minimally important difference in HRQL scores. RESULTS HRQL was lower with nearly all exposures of interest. The lowest physical HRQL was associated with amputation. In combined exposure models, geriatric syndromes (–5.3 [95% CI –5.8 to –4.8], P < 0.001) and diabetes complications (–3.5 [–4.0 to –2.9], P < 0.001) were associated with lower physical HRQL. The lowest mental HRQL was associated with depression, underweight (BMI