Meta-analysis of quality of life outcomes following diabetes self-management training

Abstract

Diabetes is a common chronic illness that requires daily diet, exercise, and medication management. Both disease management and diabetes complications may affect quality of life. Despite the importance of quality of life outcomes, no previous meta-analyses have synthesized findings from diabetes self-management intervention studies. Extensive literature searching located published and unpublished diabetes self-management intervention studies that measured quality of life outcomes among at least 5 subjects with type 1 or 2 diabetes. Exhaustive searching yielded 20 comparisons across 1,892 subjects. The comparisons between treatment and control group outcomes following interventions yielded an effect size of 0.281. The comparisons between treatment group at baseline and outcome measurement yielded an effect size of 0.312 to 0.313. Each of these effect sizes were statistically significant, meaning that the hypothesis that interventions to improve diabetes self-management results in increased quality of life outcomes was supported. Control subjects did not experience improved quality of life while participating in studies. These findings document that people with diabetes experience improved quality of life from participation in interventions designed to increase diabetes self- management.