Diabetes mellitus and quality of life of the Palestinian diabetic refugees in the refugee camps in Gaza Strip

Eljedi AY. Diabetes mellitus and quality of life of the Palestinian diabetic refugees in the refugee camps in Gaza Strip. Bielefeld (Germany): Bielefeld University; 2005.Objectives: To examine the effect of the refugee life and diabetes on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of the diabetic refugees in Gaza Strip. Design and methods: A cross-sectional 1:1 paired matched case-control design was used. One case (diabetic refugees) and two age- and sex-matched control groups (diabetic non-refugees and non-diabetic refugees) were recruited from three refugee camps and their neighboring cities to complete the WHOQOL-BREF (World Health Organization Quality of Life - brief form) questionnaire and to conduct the interviews. Results: Refugees with diabetes had significantly poorer HRQOL than diabetic non-refugees and healthy refugees in the physical, psychological, social and environmental domains. Older age, female sex, longer duration of diabetes and presence of complications were associated with a lower HRQOL of the refugees