Mean quality of life of hypertensive and diabetic patients: A comparative study of patients in secondary and tertiary health facilities in Kaduna State, Nigeria.

Introduction: Hypertension and diabetes have become major non-communicable diseases of public health importance globally, considering the magnitude of the diseases, the propensity to worsen the patients' quality of life and the associated mortality. This study compared the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of hypertensive and diabetic patients in both tertiary and secondary health facilities in Kaduna State, north-western Nigeria.

Materials and methods: This was a descriptive comparative cross-sectional study amongst 325 patients, of which 93 (28.6%) were from the tertiary and 232 (71.4%) were from the secondary facilities. All eligible respondents participated in this study. Data were analysed with SPSS version 25 and STATA SE 12, t-test for comparison of two means, Chi-square and multivariate analyses were performed with P < 0.05.

Results: The mean age was 55.72 ± 13 years. Two-thirds, 197 (60.6%), were hypertensive only, 60 (18.5%) were diabetic only (18.5%) and 68 (20.9%) were hypertensive diabetic. For the hypertensive only at the tertiary facility, the mean scores for vitality (VT) (68.0 ± 5.97, P = 0.01), emotional well-being (EW) (77.33 ± 4.52, P = 0.0007) and bodily pain (BP), (74.17 ± 5.94, P = 0.05) were significantly higher for tertiary compared with those at secondary facilities. The mean HRQOL for the people with diabetes only at the tertiary facilities also showed statistically significant higher scores for VT (72.2 ± 61, P = 0.01), social functioning (72.2 ± 8.4, P = 0.02), EW (75.44 ± 4.9, P = 0.001) and BP (85.56 ± 7.7, P = 0.01) when compared with the secondary facilities.

Conclusion: Patients managed by specialists at the tertiary health facility had better HRQOL than those managed at the secondary health facilities. Continued medical education and the use of standard operating procedures are recommended for improved HRQOL.