Relationship between dietary practice status and quality of life in diabetic patients

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between the implementation status of diet therapy and quality of life (QOL) and to examine the ideal way of providing nutritional guidance for diabetic patients. We investigated the relationship between the implementation status of diet therapy, the shortened version of the diabetic diet-related QOL scale, and health-related QOL (8-item Short-Form Health Survey, SF-8), in 217 patients visiting a diabetic clinic by anonymous self-administration, and analyzed their relevance. As a result, the higher the frequency of diets that restrict dietary intake and establish eating habits, the better the QOL.

It was affected by the restrictions on “staple foods,” “starting with vegetables,” and “eating a combination of staple foods and the main and side dishes,” which enhanced the sense of benefit of diabetic diet-related QOL. Furthermore, “starting with vegetables” strongly affected the general health, and “earlier supper time” had a great influence on mental health and the mental summary score of SF-8. Therefore, it is suggested that the continuous implementation of diet therapy such as “starting with vegetables” and “earlier supper time” would bring mental and physical stability. It could be effective guidance not only from the point of view of lowering blood glucose but also from the point of view of physical and mental health science.