Assessment of quality of life and relevant factors in elderly diabetic patients in the Shanghai community.

PURPOSE: The study was to assess the quality of life (QOL) of the elderly diabetes mellitus (DM) in Shanghai community and to screen the possible risk factors. METHODS: A total of 951 patients with elderly DM and 1007 elderly subjects with normal glucose tolerance from the same community as control group were enrolled in the study. A door-to-door retrospectively epidemiological survey was used to collect data of QOL, demographic, and diabetic information. The SF-36 instrument (Chinese edition) was used to assess QOL. Multiple stepwise linear regression analysis was also used to identify possible risk factors of QOL in elder DM. RESULTS: In subjects with elderly DM, the general assessment of perceived health was worse, compared with the normal elderly people; the mean score of multi-item dimensions assessment had been decreased, the lowest and highest scores of which on SF-36, respectively, were general health and body pain (ranged from 42.08 to 77.00). Based on the multiple stepwise regression analysis, 23 risk factors entered 9 multiple regressive models (9 dependent variables of which stand for the scores of 8 dimensions and the total score on SF-36) with different amount ultimately. Within the 13 risk factors that affect QOL of the elderly diabetic patients, the negative correlated factors were gender, age, payment ability of medical treatment, tumor, level of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), medicines purchasing channels, diabetic microvascular complications, diabetic macrovascular complications, acute complications, while the positive correlated factors were occupation, income, exercises, knowledge of DM. The multiple correlation coefficient square (R2) represented the above 13 risk factors had a totally 30.5% impact on the entire QOL. CONCLUSIONS: QOL of elderly DM population had significantly been decreased; QOL of the elderly patients in Shanghai community had many risk factors, which on one hand stated the complexity of elderly DM, and on the other hand gave us many useful and practical methods to improve QOL of elderly DM.

Risk factors of adverse drug reaction from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in Shanghai patients with arthropathy.

AIM: The study was to screen the possible risk factors of adverse drug reaction (ADR) induced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in Shanghai patients with arthropathy. METHODS: The subjects were randomly selected from a database of outpatients with arthropathy from 9 main hospitals in Shanghai. A door to door retrospective epidemiological survey was used to collect demographic information about the patients, both individual and familial. This included data on their medical histories, lifestyle and dietary habits, history of smoking and alcohol consumption, history of drug therapy, quality of life (QOL) prior to NSAIDs intake, history of NSAIDs therapy and its ADR events, etc. Descriptive statistical methods and univariate analysis were also used to identify possible risk factors for ADRs induced by NSAIDs. RESULTS: Of the 1002 patients surveyed, the average length of NSAIDs intake was 2 years. ADR incidence from different NSAIDs was high, in a range from 46.7 %-66.2 %. In general, the candidate risk factors for ADRs were different for each NSAID. Each of the candidate risk factors were defined and studied in order to evaluate its role in the determination of ADRs from NSAIDs. "Family history of ADRs caused by NSAIDs" was found to be a significant risk factor for the four commonly used NSAIDs: meloxicam, diclofenac, nimesulide, and nabumetone. CONCLUSION: A retrospective epidemiological survey was useful in detecting the risk factors for ADRs caused by NSAIDs. The study found that different NSAIDs might have different risk factors and that there is no single risk factor universally applicable to all NSAIDs.