Nutrition quality of life associated with affective functioning among Omani patients with type 2 diabetes from primary health care

Diabetes requires challenging lifelong dietary management, affects quality of life and heightens the impact of affective functioning. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between Nutrition Quality of Life (NQOL) and affective functioning in a sample of Omani patients with type 2 diabetes. A sample of 149 adults with type 2 diabetes was conveniently recruited from seven Primary Health Centers (PHCs) during follow-up visits. Data were gathered via face-to-face interviews. Pearson correlation and χ2 test of independence were applied to examine associations at P < 0·05. Most patients had poor glycemic control (71·1 %), BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 (85·2 %) and central obesity (75·8 %), and moderate (54·4 %) and poor (32·9 %) level of NQOL. Based on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), 16·1 and 23·5 % of the sample endorsed the presence of anxiety and depression, respectively. A significant negative correlation was found between NQOL and HADS (r -0·590, P = 0·000), anxiety (r -0·597, P = 0·000) and depression (r -0·435, P = 0·000). There was a significant association between NQOL and HADS, χ2 (2) = 38·21, P < 0·01 that was large, Cramer's V = 0·51. Also, there were significant associations (P < 0·01) between NQOL and HADS when controlling for HbA1c, BMI, waist circumference and HMNT that were moderately to largely strong, Cramer's V = 0·43-0·55. There is an evident association between NQOL and affective functioning in adults with type 2 diabetes. Further research is recommended to confirm these relationships and to guide intervention programmes at PHCs to help improve the general quality of life of such patients.