Objective: This study is aimed at determining factors associated with the quality of life among Jordanian diabetic patients with foot ulcers.
Methods: 144 consecutive patients with diabetic foot ulcers aged ≥ 18 years who were attending the diabetic foot clinic at a diabetes-specialized center were included in this study. Health-related quality of life was assessed using two self-administered questionnaires: Diabetic Foot Scale-Short Form (DFS-SF) and Short Form-8 (SF-8).
Results: Patients with diabetic foot ulcer had low mean DFS-SF score and low mean scores on physical and mental component summary scales (PCS8 and MCS8). Males had significantly higher DFS-SF score indicating better health-related quality of life than females (P value 0.038). A patient with stressful life events had significantly lower health-related quality of life using DFS-SF scale and SF-8 summary scales. Patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and patients with obesity had lower DFS-SF and PCS8 quality of life.
Conclusion: Patients with diabetic foot ulcer had low quality of life. Female gender, obesity, presence of PVD, and stressful life events were the most important factors associated with lower quality of life in patients with diabetic foot ulcer.