Health related quality of life and healthcare utilization among adults with diabetes and kidney and eye complications in the United States

Background One-third of adults with diabetes in the United States have chronic kidney disease (CKD), and 19% of them have eye complications (ECs). However, little is known about the Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of adults with both of these diabetes-related complications. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine differences in the HRQoL, mental health, and healthcare utilization of adults with diabetes who have CKD, ECs, both or neither. Methods A cross-sectional study design was implemented using data from multiple panels (2009-2015) of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. HRQoL was measured using the SF-12 Physical and Mental Component Summary (PCS & MCS) scores. The HRQoL, mental health, and healthcare utilization of four mutually exclusive groups: 1) diabetes with both CKD and ECs; 2) diabetes with CKD only; 3) diabetes with ECs only, and 4) diabetes with neither CKD nor ECs were compared. In all analyses, adults with neither CKD nor ECs were the reference group. Results There were 8415 adults with diabetes who met the inclusion criteria. Approximately, 75% of the study sample had neither CKD nor ECs, 13.3% had ECs only, 5.7% had CKD only, and 5.5% had both CKD and ECs. In the adjusted analyses, adults with both CKD and/or ECs complications exhibited significantly lower HRQoL compared to those with neither CKD nor ECs. Mental illness and psychological distress were higher among adults with both CKD and ECs compared to those with neither CKD nor ECs. Furthermore, adults with CKD and/or ECs had higher polypharmacy, inpatient and emergency services use compared to those with neither CKD nor ECs. Conclusions The results indicate that the presence of both CKD and/or ECs was negatively associated with poor HRQoL, poor mental health, higher psychological distress and healthcare utilization in adults with diabetes. The findings emphasize the need for routine assessment and treatment for diabetes-related CKD and/or ECs complications to improve the quality of care for individuals with diabetes.