The influence of pain in the quality of life of elderly with Diabetes mellitus

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Fernanda T F Paiva, Luciano R. Lima, Walterlania S Santos, Silvana S Funghetto and Marina M Stival

Masters Student, University of Brasilia, Brazil
University of Brasilia, Brazil

: Endocrinol Diabetes Res

Abstract

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In addition to the evident increase in the number of elderly, there is also a higher prevalence of Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases (NCD), such as Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Poorly controlled DM causes several complications such as pain, which compromise the productivity, the life expectancy, and the quality of life (QOL). QOL is an important aspect of diabetes because a poor quality of life reduces the self-care, resulting in a worse glycemic control, and increasing the risks of complications. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the pain and its impact on quality of life of elderly patients with DM in a primary care unit in Brazil. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: A descriptive and quantitative study, which data were collected from September to November 2015, through a semi-structured questionnaire and previously tested, composed of questions about the sociodemographic profile, and the WHOQOL-OLD and WHOQOL-BREF questionnaires. Findings: Through scores of WHOQOL-BREF questionnaires and WHOQOL-OLD shown in Table 1, it was observed that those people who did not report pain had better QOL scores than those reported pain, except in the physical domain and in the facet autonomy. Conclusion & Significance: The results of this study show that pain affects the QOL of the elderly with DM and enables the better planning of actions that meet the specific needs of this population.

Biography

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Fernanda Paiva is a register nurse who loves working with elderly patients and chronic disease. She studied in the nursing program at Lehman College - CUNY (New York, USA) as an exchange student during one year (2014). Currently, she is a master student in Sciences and Technologies in Health at the University of Brasilia, Brazil.

E-mail: fernandinhathays@gmail.com