Quality of life in patients with diabetes using the Diabetes 39 (D-39) instrument

The purpose of this study is to investigate the specific quality of life of patients with diabetes mellitus. It is a cross-sectional study, which was conducted from August 2-28, 2012 in two basic health units, in the interior of São Paulo. A convenience sample, made up of 75 patients, 18 years old or older, both sexes, in a group of self-monitoring of blood glucose, was used. The Diabetes 39 (D-39) Instrument Evaluation, containing five dimensions: energy and mobility (15 items), diabetes control (12), anxiety and worry (4) social overload (5) and sexual behavior (3), was used. Quality of life proved to be highly affected in the items related to the social overload dimension, embarrassment for having diabetes, being called diabetic and diabetes interfering with family life. The elucidation of the assessed factors contributes to the planning of educational programs, insofar as they may hinder the achievement of metabolic control in patients with diabetes.