Denisson Dias da Silva, Suzana Lavigne, Thais Della Manna, Renan Magalhães Montenegro Júnior, Emerson Sampaio, João Regis Ivar Carneiro, Marília B. Gomes, Marisa Helena César Coral, Ana Paula Dias Rangel Montenegro, Elizabeth Sumi Yamada, Roberta Arnoldi Cobas, Maria de Fatima Guedes, Manuel dos Santos Faria, Alessandra S. M. Matheus, Marcia Nery, Renata Maria de Noronha, Luiz Antonio de Araujo, Alessandra T Zucatti, Karem Barbosa Miléo, Hana Andrade de Rider Brito, Neuza Braga Campos de Araújo, Mirela Jobim de Azevedo, Carlos Antonio Negrato, Ana Cristina R. A. Faria, Marilena M Cordeiro, João Felício Abrahão Neto, Hermelinda Cordeiro Pedrosa, Rossana Santiago de Sousa Azulay, Patricia Dualib, Maria Cristina Foss-Freitas, Renata Szundy Berardo, Fernando C Robles, Lenita Zajdenverg, Melanie Rodacki, Alexis D Guedes, Leticia B Araujo, Leticia Japiassu, Antonio Carlos Pires, Rosangela Rea, João Soares Felício, Maria do Carmo Arruda Marques, Saulo C Silva, Milton C. Foss, Nelson Rassi, Balduino Tschiedel, Janice Sepúlveda, Flávia Marques Santos, Luis Henrique Santos Canani, Cristina Façanha, Deborah Laredo Jezini, Daniela Aline Pereira, Cátia Cristina Silva Sousa Vergara Palma, Catarina Cani, Thaís Pontes Arbage, Lucianne Righeti Monteiro Tannus, Sergio Atala Dib, Jorge Luiz Luescher, Naira Horta Melo, Adriana Costa e Forti, Ana Carolina Contente Braga de Souza, Roberta Diaz Savoldelli, Karla Freire Rezende, Reine Marie Fonseca, Odelisa Silva de Mattos, Camila Cavalcante Koury, Luiz Eduardo Calliari, Flaviene Alves do Prado, Alberto Ramos, Gustavo A Cardozo, Monica Tolentino, Carolina Tavares Carvalho, Ana Regina Bastos Motta, and Fernanda G Penha
Background: In type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) management, enhancing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is as important as good metabolic control and prevention of secondary complications. This study aims to evaluate possible regional differences in HRQoL, demographic features and clinical characteristics of patients with T1DM in Brazil, a country of continental proportions, as well as investigate which variables could influence the HRQoL of these individuals and contribute to these regional disparities. Methods: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, multicenter study performed by the Brazilian Type 1 Diabetes Study Group (BrazDiab1SG), by analyzing EuroQol scores from 3005 participants with T1DM, in 28 public clinics, among all geographical regions of Brazil. Data on demography, economic status, chronic complications, glycemic control and lipid profile were also collected. Results: We have found that the North-Northeast region presents a higher index in the assessment of the overall health status (EQ-VAS) compared to the Southeast (74.6 ± 30 and 70.4 ± 19, respectively; p < 0.05). In addition, North- Northeast presented a lower frequency of self-reported anxiety-depression compared to all regions of the country (North-Northeast: 1.53 ± 0.6; Southeast: 1.65 ± 0.7; South: 1.72 ± 0.7; Midwest: 1.67 ± 0.7; p < 0.05). These findings could not be entirely explained by the HbA1c levels or the other variables examined. Conclusions: Our study points to the existence of additional factors not yet evaluated that could be determinant in the HRQoL of people with T1DM and contribute to these regional disparities.