Relationship between Social Capital, Psychological Well-Being, and Quality of Life in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Social capital is one of the factors affecting the health of diabetic patients which will also affect their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between social capital, psychological well-being, and quality of life in diabetes patients.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 275 diabetic patients attending Qaemshahr Razi Hospital in north of Iran. They were selected via convenience sampling. Data were collected using a demographic checklist, the Social Capital Questionnaire (SCQ), Diabetes Quality of Life questionnaire (DQOL), and World Health Organization Well-Being Index. Data were analyzed in SPSS V22.

The mean values for social capital, psychological well-being, and quality of life were 103.74 ± 19.56, 13.19 ± 5.47, and 43.59 ± 7.2, respectively. The study showed that social capital was positively and significantly associated with psychological well-being and quality of life (P<0.05). In this study, psychological well-being, social capital, more children, and higher educational backgrounds explained 34% of the variance in quality of life of diabetic patients.

Appropriate interventions on psychological well-being and social capital are needed to improve the quality of life of diabetes patients.