BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot is considered as one of the most devastating chronic complications of diabetes mellitus due to the large number of cases that eventually require amputation. In the present study, we aimed to assess the quality of life of patients with diabetes and foot ulcers compared to that of patients with diabetes but without foot ulcers. METHODS: An analytical, cross-sectional, controlled, and comparative study of patients who visited 2 wound clinics in São Paulo was performed. Fifty patients with diabetes mellitus but without foot ulcers were selected as the control group and 50 patients with diabetes and foot ulcers were selected as the study group. The Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life. Patients were included consecutively in the same order that they visited the clinic. RESULTS: The mean SF-36 score was 69.38 ± 21.90 in the control group and 30.34 ± 14.45 in the study group (P < 0.001). Mean scores across all SF-36 domains were lower in the study group than in the control group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with diabetes and foot ulcers experience changes in the quality of life in the physical, social, and psychoemotional domains.
Quality of life; Diabetes mellitus; Ulcer; Foot ulcer
