Adaptation of Diabetes-Specific Quality-of-Life Scale for patients with type 1 diabetes

Abstract

The diabetes-specific quality-of-life scale (DSQOLS) addresses accurately the differences between various forms of therapy in diabetes mellitus (DM) 1 and investigates the level of patient satisfaction with their current treatment in relation to their individual goals. The aim of this work is to adapt the DSQOLS to the population from Argentine. The 64-item questionnaire was administered online. The 223 people took part voluntarily (75.3% were female), ranging between 18 and 85 years of age, giving their informed consent. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to evaluate the internal structure of the questionnaire. Indexes of Cronbach’s alpha were also obtained, and the scales scores were compared in relation to gender, use of insulin pump, physical activity, and participation in support groups. The results showed that the model fits properly to the data. The reliability of the scales was satisfactory. The DSQOLS is a reliable and valid measure of specific health-related quality-of-life in people with DM1. It allows to distinguish between patients with different treatment regimens as well as to detect social inequalities. It can also be helpful to identify motivational deficits and to adapt strategies of individual treatments.