Qualidade de vida em pacientes com diabetes mellitus tipo 2 em uso de equipamento de monitorização FreeStyle® Libre

Abstract

Introduction: With urbanization, sedentary lifestyle, and nutritional transition, type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) has become a true epidemic. This disease brings with it changes and complications that impact the quality of life (QoL) of patients. Objective: To evaluate the impact of using a flash glucose monitoring sensor (SFMG) on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of decompensated DM2 patients undergoing an intensive diabetes management program. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental longitudinal study conducted with 17 DM2 patients using a SFMG, the FreeStyle® Libre, for 3 months. Patients served as their own controls, assessed at baseline and end of study for HRQL data. To measure HRQoL, the DQOL-Brazil questionnaire was used, consisting of 44 items divided into 4 domains: satisfaction, impact, social/vocational concerns (SPV), and diabetes-related concerns (DRP) and answered using a 5-point Likert scale where 1 represents better values and 5, worse values. Mean scores were calculated for each question, for the 4 domains, and for the questionnaire as a whole. We also compared glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) before and after the experiment. Statistical analysis was performed in IBPM SPSS software version 20 using paired T-test and considered significant when p<0.05. Results: We noticed an average 2% improvement in HbA1c levels at the 3-month follow-up. We also found, in the DQOL, significant improvement in the Satisfaction and Impact domains, in addition to the general questionnaire. Also. Conclusion: The use of the FreeStyle® Libre device was significantly related to HbA1c reduction and improvement in patients' HRQoL measured by DQOL. Further controlled studies are needed to verify if the improvement found is related to the use of the device or if it is a consequence of the intensive diabetes control program.