Evaluation of the quality of life of patients with diabetes mellitus treated with conventional or analogue insulins

Abstract Aims The results of two scales that measure quality of life of patients with diabetes mellitus treated with conventional or analogue insulin were evaluated and compared. Methods Descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study, conducted in the cities of Pereira and Manizales, Colombia, in a care facility between 1 August 2013 and 30 March 2014. A total of 238 patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus type 1 or type 2 who had been undergoing treatment with conventional or analogue insulin for at least 6 months. Comparison of the results of the Diabetes 39 (specific) and European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) (generic) tools it was performed. Comparisons between the results of the two instruments were performed. Tests for parametric and non-parametric distribution (Pearson’s correlation coefficient, Mann–Whitney U test, Student’s t-test and Wilcoxon test) were used. Results The mean age was 57.7 ± 16.6 years. Conventional insulin was prescribed to 69.6% of patients, and analogue insulin was prescribed to 30.4% of patients. Diabetes-39 (D-39) showed 24.7% of subjects with a high quality of life. No statistically significant differences were found when comparing patients prescribed conventional or analogue insulin ( p  = 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.375–1.419). In the EQ-5D survey, 45.7% claimed to have a high quality of life, without statistically significant differences between groups ( p  = 0.56; 95% CI: 0.676–2.047). Conclusions No differences between patients receiving conventional insulin versus analogue insulin were detected in terms of quality of life. The group aged over 60 years requires special attention to improve their quality of life, and programs should focus on those individuals.