The associating factors on health-related quality of life in Korean midlife women with type 2 diabetes

초록

Background: Midlife women have a higher prevalence rate of type II diabetes mellitus (DM) in their menopausal transition due to alternations in their insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. These hormonal changes during the menopausal transition could have negative impacts on women’s health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, little is clearly known on the associations between type II DM and HRQoL among midlife women in South Korea. Aim: This study was to identify the associating factors on HRQoL among Korean midlife women with type II DM in their menopausal transition. Method: A secondary analysis was conducted with the data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2019). The data from 751 midlife women aged 40-64 who have HbA1c 5.7% or above were selected for this study. EQ-5D was used to assess HRQoL. Various background characteristics and health-related factors were also included. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, chi-square test, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses with SPSS 28.0 program. Results: Mean age was 54.89(SD=6.48) years and the data included 628 prediabetes (HbAlc 5.7–6.4%), and 123 diabetes (HbA1c 6.5% or above) women. In subgroup analysis, diabetes group had earlier menopause age than prediabetes group (p < .001). Also, there was statistically significant difference in the score of HRQoL between diabetes status (p < .001). When background characteristics were controlled, the HRQoL was significantly correlated with menopausal status, physical activity level, sleep hours, stress, and depression. These variables explained 23.8% of the variance of HRQoL. Discussion: Both diabetes and menopausal-related symptoms have a negative impact on HRQoL among midlife women with type II DM. This study findings highlight the importance of intervening postmenopausal women with diabetes for sleep, stress, and depression, to improve their quality of life.