Utilização dos serviços de saúde e qualidade de vida entre portadores de diabetes

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the use of health services by patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and the impact of the disease on the quality of life of these individuals. METHODS: A cross - sectional study involving 344 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus enrolled in primary health care in a small Brazilian city. The dependent variable was the use of health services (USS) and the independent variables were the socioeconomic-demographic and clinical characteristics of diabetic patients, and those related to health behaviors (personal health practices and medical care process). Decision tree analysis was performed using the Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) algorithm to explain the profile of USS by diabetics. . RESULTS: The majority of the population used health services regularly (n = 226, 65.7%), and had a low impact of diabetes on quality of life (n = 275, 79.9%). The most important variables to understand the use of health services on a regular basis among diabetics were: low monthly family income (p <0.001), female sex (p <0.001), marital status without partner (p = 0.023) (p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: The present study showed that more than half of the DM patients investigated regularly used health services, which resulted in a low impact of the disease on the quality of life of the majority of the diabetic population of the municipality. However, there is still evidence of inadequate access to essential exams and deficiencies in actions that promote a healthy lifestyle in this population.