OBJECTIVES: Diabetes, the 5th leading cause of death, is one the costly chronic diseases in Taiwan. This study aims to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work productivity loss for employed adults with diabetes mellitus (DM) in Taiwan.

METHODS: Data were collected from a national-wide, online survey with adults who self-reported diagnosis with or without diabetes. Work productivity was assessed using Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire – General Health (WPAI-GH); EQ5D was applied for HRQoL outcome measurement and was re-categorized into no problem (defined as scale 1~2) and with some problems (defined as scale 3~5). A non-parametric bootstrap resampling method was performed by forming 500 bootstrap samples of the DM and the healthy groups of equal size with replacement. T-tests and multivariate models were conducted to examine the differences in HRQoL and work productivity between the two groups.

RESULTS: By 15^th May 2018, a total of 673 eligible respondents were included in the analysis, mean age was 42 years, 55% were male. Among these employed adults, 612 self-reported healthy and 61 self-reported suffering DM (67.2% were type II). Compared with the healthy group, the DM group had significantly higher rate of absenteeism (1.4% vs. 6.9%), presenteeism (35.2% vs. 45.3%), overall work impairment (34.6% vs. 40.4%), and activity impairment (36.0% vs. 42.2%). The DM group showed poorer HRQoL than the healthy group, in terms of having higher proportion of having problems with mobility (3.3% vs. 0.7%), usual activities (3.3% vs. 0.5%), pain/discomfort (4.9% vs. 1.6%), and anxiety/depression (3.3% vs. 2.9%).

CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes had an impact on both HRQoL and work productivity. Further comparative effectiveness analysis is warranted in the future research to evaluate which treatment option offers the most health benefits measured in HRQoL and work productivity.