RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NEUROPATHY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN DIABETIC PATEINTS

Neuropathy is one of the most common and dangerous complications of diabetes. Diabetic neuropathy account as the most common cause of mortality among patients. Many studies suggest that neuropathy have a negative effect on quality of life. Although there is limited evidences about relationship between diabetic neuropathy and quality of life in Iran, so this study was conducted to investigate this interaction among a group of patients. As a descriptive-analytical study, 304 diabetic patients with neuropathy was selected via convenience sampling method. The data were collected through interview and physical examination. The tool of data collection was the information sheet of medical records and questionnaire that consisted of three parts, demographic and disease characteristics, list of neuropathic complications of diabetes and questions about dimensions of quality of life. The reliability evaluated via test-retest method and validity assessed via content validity method. the results revealed that tingling (96.1%) and pain (92.1%) in the case of sensory neuropathy were the most common complains. Sexual dysfunction (72.4%) and gastrointestinal problems (70.4%) account the most common symptoms in view of autonomic neuropathy. The results revealed that quality of life among all patients was fairly desirable and there was a significant relationship between neuropathy and quality of life (P<0.001). According to the findings of this study, there is a significant relation between neuropathy and quality of life in diabetic patients. Our results suggest that nurses and educational supervisors should pay attention to promote different dimensions of quality of Life in diabetic patients with neuropathy.