Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a population at risk of type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study in two Latin American cities

Effectiveness of a community intervention program on healthy lifestyles (PREDICOL) among adults with prediabetes in two Latin American cities: A quasi-experimental study

PURPOSE

This study aimed to measure the impact of a community-based lifestyle modification intervention program on the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of adults with prediabetes in two Latin American cities.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental study was conducted with participants aged 30 and above in two Colombian cities between 2018 and 2022. The glycemic status of study participants was determined through the administration of an oral glucose tolerance test. Individuals exhibiting impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) were selected for inclusion in the intervention program. Of the 146 individuals identified with IGT, 91 completed the one-year intervention protocol. HRQoL was assessed utilizing the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire, both before and after the intervention. Logistic regression models were used to calculate the odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI), while classification models based on machine learning algorithms were utilized to identify factors associated with favorable changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

RESULTS

In Bogotá D.C., a significant improvement in HRQoL was documented (pre-intervention: 0.69 ± 0.17; post-intervention: 0.76 ± 0.16), attaining the threshold for clinically meaningful change (0.06). No changes in HRQoL were observed in the study participants. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the improvement in HRQoL was statistically significantly associated with sex (OR 8.75; 95 % CI 1.91-40.03), age (OR 11.61; 95 % CI 1.44-93.44), place of residence (OR 29.31; 95 % CI 5.26-163.54), and weight loss (OR 5.56; 95 % CI 1.15-26.76). According to the XGBoost model, return to normal glycemic status emerged as the most important variable for improvements in HRQoL.

CONCLUSION

Gender, age, place of residence, weight loss, and return to normoglycemic status were identified as significant predictors in lifestyle modification to improve HRQoL among participants at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Long-term associations between ambient air pollution and self-perceived health status: Results from the population-based KORA-Fit study

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the association between air pollution and self-perceived health (including both health-related quality of life [HRQoL] and self-rated health [SRH]). The aim of this study was therefore to explore whether long-term air pollution exposure is associated with worse self-perceived health, as measured by different tools.

METHODS

We used a land-use regression model to determine the annual average levels of particulate matter with a diameter <10 μm (PM10), coarse particles (PMcoarse), fine particles (PM2.5), fine particle absorbances (PM2.5abs), particle number concentration (PNC), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and nitrogen oxide (NOX) for geocoded residential addresses (2014-2015). Questionnaires and face-to-face interviews were used to collect HRQoL (measured using the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions [EQ-5D] index and the European Quality of Life Visual Analogue Scale [EQ-VAS]) and SRH indicators (measured through two survey questions) (2018-2019) from participants of the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg (KORA)-Fit study in Germany. We explored associations via generalized additive models, multinomial logistic regression, and logistic regression.

RESULTS

We included 2610 participants with a mean age of 64.0 years in this cross-sectional study, of which 1428 (54.7%) were female. Each interquartile range (IQR) increase in O3 was associated with a reduced EQ-5D index value (% change of mean points and 95% confidence interval: -0.91% [-1.76; -0.06]). The average EQ-VAS score declined between -1.57% and -0.96% with each IQR increase in PM10, PMcoarse, PM2.5abs, PNC, NO2, and NOX. These pollutants were associated with increased occurrence of poor SRH, with odds ratios ranging from 1.24 to 2.67. PM2.5abs was linked to a higher likelihood of reporting a worse comparative SRH (2.59 [1.12; 5.99]). Body mass index and self-perceived stress modified these associations.

CONCLUSIONS

Long-term air pollution exposure was associated with poor self-perceived health, presenting as lower HRQoL and higher odds of poor SRH. Single-item indicators measuring self-perceived health status may work better than multi-dimensional indicators.

The association between sociodemographic characteristics, clinical indicators and body mass index in a population at risk of type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional study in two Colombian cities

AIMS

To assess the association between sociodemographic and clinical factors with body mass index (BMI) in a population at risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Bogotá and Barranquilla, Colombia.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study used data from the PREDICOL Study. Participants with a FINDRISC ≥ 12 who underwent an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) were included in the study (n=1166). The final analytical sample size was 1101 participants. Those with missing data were excluded from the analysis (n=65). The main outcome was body mass index (BMI), which was categorized as normal, overweight, and obese. We utilized unadjusted and adjusted ordinal logistic regression analysis to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 41 % (n=449) and 47 % (n=517), respectively. Participants with a 2-hour glucose ≥139 mg/dl had 1.71 times higher odds of being overweight or obese (regarding normal weight) than participants with normal 2-hour glucose values. In addition, being a woman, waist circumference altered, and blood pressure >120/80 mmHg were statistically significantly associated with a higher BMI.

CONCLUSION

Strategies to control glycemia, blood pressure, and central adiposity are needed in people at risk of T2D. Future studies should be considered with a territorial and gender focus, considering behavioral, and sociocultural patterns.

The association between health-related quality of life, self-reported characteristics and 1- and 3-year mortality amongst cardiac patients with and without type 2 diabetes

PURPOSE

The objectives amongst cardiac patients with and without type 2 diabetes were to (i) describe self-reported characteristics as health-related quality of life (HRQoL), health behaviour, body mass index (BMI) and physical shape and to (ii) investigate the association between self-reported characteristics and 1- and 3-year mortality.

METHODS

Adult patients (≥ 18 years) discharged with a cardiac diagnosis were invited to participate in a national survey, DenHeart. Self-reported characteristics included HRQoL (EQ-5D-5L and HeartQol), health behaviour (alcohol and smoking), BMI and physical shape. Data were linked to national registries. The association between self-reported characteristics and 1- and 3-year mortality were investigated using the Cox Proportional Hazard Regression model, reported as hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

In total, 16,659 cardiac responders were included (n = 2,205 with type 2 diabetes, n = 14,454 without type 2 diabetes). Self-reported characteristics were worse amongst cardiac patients with type 2 diabetes compared to those without. After three years, the mortality rate was 14% amongst responders with diabetes and 7% amongst responders without type 2 diabetes (p ≤ 0.001). Better HRQoL was associated with a reduced risk of mortality amongst both groups. "Never been smoking" significantly reduced the risk of 1- and 3-year mortality amongst cardiac patients without diabetes, whereas good physical shape was associated with a reduced risk across both groups.

CONCLUSION

HRQoL, health behaviour, BMI and physical shape are significantly worse amongst cardiac patients with type 2 diabetes. Better HRQoL was associated with a reduced risk of mortality amongst both groups, whereas other self-reported characteristics and the mortality risk varied.