Risk factors for impaired quality of life in diabetic patients in Tunisia.

Quality of life preservation is crucial in the management of chronic diseases, in particular diabetes. To identify risk factors for the impaired quality of life of Tunisian diabetic patients. A cross-sectional study that collected type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, selected by convenience sampling was conducted. Diabetic patients received a self-administered questionnaire in Arabic containing general and clinical data and a validated Arabic version of the "Diabetes Health Profile -18". Three hundred and thirty-three type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, whose age was ≥ 40 years in 78.1% of cases with a sex ratio of 0.94, were collected. The answers to the questionnaire highlighted a globally impaired quality of life for the diabetic patients with an average of 30.21 (7.06). Binary regression analysis presented globally significant models reflecting impairment risk factors for diabetic patients' quality of life. Female gender (AOR= 1.7; p= 0.036), comorbidities associated with diabetes (AOR = 1.23; p<10-3), diabetes complications (AOR= 1.45; p=0.041) and irregular medical follow-up (AOR=4.19; p<10-3) were risk factors for impaired diabetic patients' quality of life. This study underlines the major role of a holistic diabetic patient care for better identification and management of risk factors of impaired quality of life.