Quality of life and associated factors among Jordanian adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Objectives: Quality of life (QoL) is a significant indicator of the outcome of the treatment in chronic diseases. The purpose of the study was to assess the QoL of Jordanian adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus and its associated factors.

Methods: A total of 145 adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus were invited to participate in the study during their regular visits to outpatient clinics. The subjects were recruited from the National Center for Diabetes, Endocrine and Genetic Diseases in Amman, the capital of Jordan, and from three main hospitals in the north of Jordan between October 2007 and February 2008. A short form of the Diabetes Quality of Life for Youth (DQLQY-SF) questionnaire was used. The DQLQY-SF consists of 22 items on two subscales (disease impact and worries) with higher scale scores indicating increase frequency of problems and lower QoL.

Results: The mean (S.D.) age of the participants was 14.1 (3.1) years and the mean (S.D.) diabetes duration was 3.7 (2.9) years. This study showed that adolescents perceived their QoL as low. The mean (S.D.) of DQLQY-SF total score was 56.4 (18.0). The mean was 36.2 (10.1) for the impact scale, 17.9 (8.9) for worries about diabetes, and 2.2 (1.2) for health perception. Multivariate analysis showed that more impact of diabetes, worries about diabetes, and worse overall QoL were associated with shorter diabetes duration, higher HbA(1c) values, being a girl, and older age.

Conclusions: The QoL of Jordanian adolescents with type 1 diabetes was low. Better glycemic control may contribute to the improvement of QoL.