Publication:

Health-Related Quality of Life in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients at Moi County Referral Hospital in Taita-Taveta County, Kenya

Non-transmittable diseases are becoming a burden in Sub-Saharan Africa due to changing lifestyle habits like smoking, inactivity, and poor diet. Although diabetes was once thought to the affluents-only disease, it is now more commonly seen in low- and middle-income nations like Kenya. The cross-sectional study's goal was to determine socio-demographic and health-related characteristics affiliated to QOL (quality of life) as well as how this condition affected patients with T2DM (type 2 diabetes mellitus) at Moi County Referral Hospital (MCRH) in Taita-Taveta County. were. The study adopted ADDQOL (audit of diabetes dependent quality of life) tool with 19 items version 2006, no alterations were done, and license number HPR4458 was issued to utilize the tool in this study. The 165 patients were picked using a systematic random sampling method. 127(77percent) of the study's participants had a mean quality of life score concerning diabetes of -1.88, roughly corresponding to "quality of life would be much better in the absence of diabetes" at a score of –2. An average weighted impact score of -4.48, indicated an unfavourable impact on the patients' QOL by diabetes mellitus. Foot ulcers/sores (p=0.005; a OR=7.348) and numbness/pain in hands, legs, or feet (p=0.001; a OR=0.155) were associated to low quality of life. The socio-demographic characteristics were not related to the quality of life. The domain-specific element of "sex life" was considered the most essential and negatively impacted at a weighted impact score of -5.14. Overall, quality of life of T2DM patients in MCRH was low. It is important to focus on the often-overlooked health-related characteristics coupled with the disability adjusted life years of diabetic patients and how they both influence their quality of life.