Health-related quality of life in a group of Egyptian children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes: relationship to microvascular complications

Abstract

No significant differences between studied diabetic and healthy children (8–12 years) (total generic health-related quality of life score mean = (77.05 ± 14.58 vs. 79.32 ± 11.15, respectively). But there was a significant decrease for studied diabetic adolescents (13–18 years) compared to healthy peers (64.37 ± 14.54 vs. 74.74 ± 13.34, respectively). Microvascular complications impacted the health-related quality of life of type 1 diabetic children and adolescents, the most worsen effect was associated with neuropathy (p < 0.001). Statistically significant negative correlations were found between health-related quality of life domains with all metabolic control parameters, and the strongest correlation was between treatment adherence scale with HbA1c% (r = − 0.941, p ˂ 0.001). Health-related quality of life of the studied diabetic children and adolescents was negatively affected by the development of microvascular complications, especially diabetic neuropathy, while positively affected by achieving good metabolic control (HbA1c < 8%).