Comparison of Quality of life among Diabetic and Non Diabetic Patients after Open Heart Surgery (Short Report)

Diabetes is among the important health problems that threatens the quality of life (QOL) in patients. Heart disease is the most common complication of diabetes and the most prevalent treatment for this disease is open heart surgery. Due to extensive operations of heart surgery and unpredictable results of this intervention on the quality of life, we decided to Compare quality of life in diabetic and non diabetic patients after open heart surgery.

This descriptive study was performed on 80 patients, 31 diabetic and 49 non-diabetic patients who were selected with objective based sampling. Data were collected by SF-36 and demographic data questionnaires which were completed in 3 steps (before, 1 and 3 monthes after operation). Data were analyzed by descriptive and analytic statistics including chi-square, repeated measures design and independent and paired t-test.

The results of the study showed no significant differences between the two groups in the different dimensions of life quality in the first and 3 months after the surgery. But in the field of mental health and role playing, there was significant statistical difference (p=0.03) between the two groups three months after surgery.

This study showed that both diabetic and nondiabetic patients had benefitted from open heart surgery and it had improved their quality of life. Therefore, more studies are recommended to evaluate the long-term effects of open heart surgery on patient's quality of life.