Evaluating the Direct and Indirect Effects of SF-36 Domains Score on Two Main Factors in Diabetic Patients with Path Analysis: Health-Related Quality of Life Study

Abstract Background and aims: Diabetes mellitus (DM) patients have a lower quality of life. This study aimed to examine the direct and indirect effect of eight domains score of the SF-36 questionnaire on two main factors, i.e., overall physical health (GH_M) and overall mental health (MH_M), in DM patients. To the best of our knowledge, this issue has been rarely studied so far. Material and method: A total of 1037 DM patients filled out the Persian version of the SF-36 questionnaire. The path analysis was used in this study. Results: In this research, only social functioning (SF) domain has significantly lower the men compared to women (P=0.06). Physical functioning (PF), bodily pain (BP), general health (GH) and vitality (VT) have a negative significant direct effect on the GH_M factor. GH domain also has a positive indirect and total effect on MH_M factor, and other domains have no significant total effect on MH_M factor. Conclusion: It is better that physicians, focus on regulating physical activity and reducing body pain in diabetes patients, which have the most direct impact on HRQoL, to achieve a more effective outcome in improving quality of life in this patient.