Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) of Hypertensive and Diabetic Patients in Two Tertiary Health Institutions in Niger Delta Region, Nigeria

Background: With the ever increasing prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in Nigeria, a major issue in their care is the improvement of patients' HRQoL.Objectives: To assess the HRQoL of hypertensive and diabetic patients attending cardiology and endocrinology clinics of two tertiary health institutions in Bayelsa State, Niger Delta region, Nigeria.Methods: Short form-12v2® Health Survey questionnaire was administered to randomly selected 600 hypertensive and/or diabetic patients attending the cardiology and/or endocrinology clinics of the facilities (from May to December, 2013) to evaluate their HRQoL. The instrument assessed majorly the physical and mental component summaries (PCS and MCS) scores relative to the general population norm (50±10). Data generated were appropriately analyzed and presented using descriptive statistics.Results: Patients' response rate was 82.0% with males constituting 57.5% of the respondents. Most (54.9%) of the respondents were hypertensive, while 129(26.2%) were diabetic with 18.9% of the cohort being both hypertensive and diabetic. The average PCS and MCS scores were 45.05±7.46 and 52.25±9.12 respectively. Physical Functioning (PF, 46.05±9.49), Role-Physical (RP, 44.31±7.99), Bodily Pain (BP, 47.37±9.32), and General Health (GH, 45.72±10.26) that constitute the PCS were all below the general population norm (50±10). However, Vitality (VT, 57.10±9.56) and Mental Health (MH, 53.83±9.04) scales in the MCS were both above the general population norm. An appreciable proportion of the subjects (15.0%) were at risk of screening positive for depression. Overall HRQoL (48.31±10.33) was below the expected norm.Conclusion: The HRQoL of patients studied is relatively poor and a reasonable proportion may be at risk of developing depression. This suggested suboptimal outcome of therapy and the need for improved adherence to therapy and overall patient management.Keywords: Bayelsa State; diabetes; hypertension; quality of life; Niger Delta