Demographic, Clinical, and Quality of Life Profiles of Older People With Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundDiabetes mellitus, one of the main diseases that affects the Brazilian population older than 60 years, is defined as a divergent group of metabolic disorders that present a high level of glycemia (hyperglycemia), causing damage to various organs and systems of the body, including the heart, kidneys, eyes, and nervous system. It is believed that in 2025, in Brazil alone, there will be more than 18.5 million individuals diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Therefore, it is important to know the individuals’ quality of life in the context of life and culture. ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the demographic, clinical, and quality of life profiles of older adults with diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic in a university hospital complex in the northern Amazon region. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional, exploratory, noninterventional, descriptive, and analytical study using a nonrandom sample of 54 older people diagnosed with diabetes mellitus at the geriatrics outpatient clinic of the medium and high complexity university hospital in the western Brazilian Amazon between 2020 and 2022. We used 3 instruments, namely, a sociodemographic questionnaire, a clinical conditions questionnaire, and Diabetes-39. Qualitative data were described using absolute and relative frequencies. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test was applied, and the z test was used for inferential analysis. SPSS software (version 27) was used for data analysis, and the significance level was 5%. ResultsOf the 54 interviewees, the majority were women, married, retired, and had a good quality of life. Of these, 48.1% (n=26) were infected by COVID-19, 61.5% (n=16) of whom progressed to long COVID, presenting with fatigue or muscle weakness. As for the quality of life, the “social overload” (P