(HealthDay)—There are significant improvements in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) following islet transplantation in patients with type 1 diabetes complicated by severe hypoglycemia, according to a study published online March 21 in Diabetes Care.
Eric D. Foster, Ph.D., from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues evaluated HRQOL, functional health status, and health utility before and after pancreatic islet transplantation in CIT Consortium Protocol 07 trial participants.
The researchers found that improvements in condition-specific HRQOL met the minimally important difference threshold. From baseline, there were significant reductions in the Diabetes Distress Scale total score and its four subscales (all P ≤ 0.0013). There were also significant reductions in the Hypoglycemic Fear Survey total score and its two subscales (all P < 0.0001) across all time points. For the EuroQoL 5 Dimensions visual analogue scale, improvements were seen after both one and two years (both P < 0.0001).
“The same subjects reported consistent, statistically significant, and clinically meaningful improvements in condition-specific HRQOL as well as self-assessments of overall health,” the authors write.