Patient reported barriers are associated with low physical and mental well-being in patients with co-morbid diabetes and chronic kidney disease

BACKGROUND: Little is known about how patient reported barriers to health care impact the quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with comorbid disease. We investigated patient reported barriers to health care and low physical and mental well-being among people with diabetes and chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS: Adults with diabetes and CKD (estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate < 60 ml/min/1.73m(2)) were recruited and completed a questionnaire on barriers to health care, the 12-Item HRQoL Short Form Survey and clinical assessment. Low physical and mental health status were defined as mean scores < 50. Logistic regression models were used. RESULTS: Three hundred eight participants (mean age 66.9 ± 11 years) were studied. Patient reported ‘impact of the disease on family and friends’ (OR 2.07; 95% CI 1.14 to 3.78), ‘feeling unwell’ (OR 4.23; 95% CI 1.45 to 12.3) and ‘having other life stressors that make self-care a low priority’ (OR 2.59; 95% CI 1.20 to 5.61), were all associated with higher odds of low physical health status. Patient reported ‘feeling unwell’ (OR 2.92; 95% CI 1.07 to 8.01), ‘low mood’ (OR 2.82; 95% CI 1.64 to 4.87) and ‘unavailability of home help’ (OR 1.91; 95% CI 1.57 to 2.33) were all associated with higher odds of low mental health status. The greater the number of patient reported barriers the higher the odds of low mental health but not physical health status. CONCLUSIONS: Patient reported barriers to health care were associated with lower physical and mental well-being. Interventions addressing these barriers may improve HRQoL among people with comorbid diabetes and CKD. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12955-018-1044-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.