This study aimed to investigate the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on patients with diabetes mellitus using patient-rated outcome measures focusing on hand function and quality of life, as well as patients' mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. It was a part of a longitudinal research involving patients with diabetes mellitus living in Sapporo, Japan. Among the 594 patients surveyed before the COVID-19 pandemic from March to June 2019, 417 patients who could be re-surveyed from March to June 2021 were included. We compared the patient-rated outcome measures, namely the Hand10 for hand function and EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire for assessing quality of life in the same population of patients with diabetes mellitus, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results indicated no deterioration in the Hand10 (3.9 vs 3.6) and quality of life scores (0.89 vs 0.9), including mobility (1.25 vs 1.17), self-care (1.1 vs 1.08), pain/discomfort (1.43 vs 1.35), and anxiety/depression (1.21 vs 1.2), during the COVID-19 pandemic when compared with the pre-pandemic values. Usual activity values on the EuroQol five-dimension subscale significantly improved during the pandemic compared to those before the pandemic (1.21 vs 1.12, p<0.01). This study highlighted the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with diabetes mellitus by comparing patient-rated outcome measures in two different social situations. Patients with diabetes mellitus living in Sapporo, Japan maintained hand function and quality of life by continuing their usual activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; diabetes mellitus; hand function; quality of life.