Pisimisis, T; (2014) Quality of Life of People with Diabetes Mellitus in Greece. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Diabetes is a chronic disease that influences almost all aspects of life of an individual, especially Quality of Life (QoL). This PhD thesis is the outcome of a research that aimed to assess the QoL of people with diabetes in Greece. The study is important because the area of diabetes-related QoL is generally understudied and is the first to have investigated this within the Greek population. This work involved the creation of the Greek version of the Audit of Diabetes Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQoL-Gr) through translating, culturally adapting and validating the instrument as a QoL measure. The version was accepted by the author and the MAPI institute as the Greek version of the ADDQoL. The QoL for people with diabetes in Greece was investigated using the ADDQoL-Gr. An assessment of their health status using the SF-36, as well as the relationship of QoL and health status with medical and socioeconomic factors was also investigated. 1027 diabetes patients participated in this cross-sectional analytical study from 8 different sites from central and northern Greece. This thesis contributes to knowledge because i) identifies some characteristics of QoL predictors; ii) explores and prioritises QoL determinants; iii) reveals the complexity of the relationship between medical-socioeconomic factors and QoL; and iv) offers an instrument for measuring diabetes-related QoL for Greek speaking populations.The main conclusion drawn from this research was that diabetes seriously affects QoL, with complications (microvascular disease followed by foot amputation) having the most adverse effect. The results of this thesis are important at both theoretical and practical level because: i) they add knowledge to the diabetes-related QoL international literature ii) may have important applications for the diabetes-care system; iii) they offer a validated instrument in Greek for future investigations.

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