ABSTRACT
The Diabetes Quality of Life Measure (DQOL) was developed in the early 1980s for use in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), a controlled, randomized, clinical trial comparing the efficacy of two alternative treatment regimens on the appearance and development of chronic complications of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) (DCCT, 1986, 1987, 1988). Specifically, the DQOL was designed to evaluate the relative burden of an intensive diabetes treatment regimen, with the goal of maintaining blood glucose levels as close as possible to those of people without diabetes, in comparison to standard diabetes therapy. Because intensive treatment would carry additional demands such as extensive reeducation, multiple daily injections of insulin or use of the insulin pump, frequent blood glucose monitoring, and greater need for cautious adjustment of food, exercise, and insulin doses, it was anticipated that this might affect the quality of life of patients, and in turn, decrease the willingness of patients and health care providers to use intensive treatment. Thus, understanding the effects of the DCCT treatment regimens on quality of life would be potentially useful for clinical application of the trial’s findings.
