Health-Related Quality of Life for People with Type 2 Diabetes in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The aim of the study was to assess the health-related quality of life and its associated factors among people with type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among adults with type 2 diabetes who attended diabetes centres in three major cities in Saudi Arabia in 2017. Participants were interviewed and their medical records were reviewed. The EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level was used to assess health-related quality of life, and bootstrap resampling with multiple regression analysis was used to identify its associated factors. Results: A total of 1121 participants were recruited. The mean age was 57.6 ±11.1 years, and the mean utility index of the quality of life was 0.739 ±0.261 (0.795 ±0.197 for males and 0.709 ±0.285 for females) and dropped to 0.566 ±0.339 in the presence of micro- and macro-vascular complications. Among the study participants, 51.0%, 12.3%, and 30.5% had problems with mobility, self-care and usual activity, respectively, while 51.6% and 45.8% had problems with pain-discomfort and anxiety-depression, respectively. Factors associated with low health-related quality of life were low education level, physical activity < 150 minutes per week, long sitting time, anxiety, depression and diabetes complications. Conclusions: Health-related quality of life is low among people with type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia, particularly among women and those who had diabetes complications. In order to improve the quality of life, people with type 2 diabetes should maintain a healthy lifestyle, and appropriate interventions should be taken to prevent complications and comorbidities.