Effects of Frequency of Follow-Up on Quality of Life of Type 2 Diabetes Patients on Oral Hypoglycemics

Abstract Background: Poor quality of life (QoL) in diabetes patients is reportedly associated with adverse outcomes. In the present study, we assessed the effects of frequency of follow-up on clinical indicators as well as QoL of type 2 diabetes patients taking hypoglycemic agents. Subjects and Methods: In total, 155 type 2 diabetes patients were randomly assigned to two groups, which only differed in the frequency of follow-up visits. In both therapy groups, the patients were taking oral hypoglycemic agents. QoL was measured with a QoL Scale for Diabetes Mellitus (DMQLS) at study entry and months 3, 6, 9, and 12. Based on the drugs used, the patients were divided in three medication groups: glimepiride group, metformin group, and glimepiride+metformin group. Results: Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed that compared with the conventional therapy group, the intensive therapy group showed significant improvement in the Disease, Psychology, and Satisfaction domain scores of the DMQLS, the overal...