The impact of diabetes mellitus on quality of life – differences between genders

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there are gender differences in the impact of the disease in the quality of life of individuals with Diabetes Mellitus type 2. METHODS: The sample consisted of 192 individuals distributed in equal numbers by gender. Data were collected between the months of August 2013 to May 2014, by sociodemographic and clinical questionnaires and instruments for assessing quality of life (PAID) and adherence to treatment. RESULTS: The age of the patients ranged from 30 to 80 years old with a mean of 61 years of age (± 11). B-PAID scores were higher in men except in issues related to social support, but the differences were not statistically significant; 51.7% of the patients with good adherence to treatment were women and 48.3% were men. CONCLUSIONS: The perception of the impact of diabetes in the quality of life of individuals in the present study, measured by the B-PAID instrument, showed that the highest scores predominate in men, that is, they have a higher degree of emotional distress than women. In the group with good adherence to treatment, there is a greater number of individuals with higher PAID scores, especially in men. In the group with poor adherence to treatment, the number of individuals with a high degree of emotional distress was similar in both sexes. This research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of UNIFESP, through Plataforma Brasil (Protocol number 103,384).