Patient-Reported Outcomes in Diabetes Management
Summary
Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) capture the lived experience of people with diabetes, encompassing symptoms, functional status and psychological well-being that cannot be measured by clinical tests alone. They are vital for shared decision-making, enabling clinicians and patients to tailor treatment plans by considering individual burden, self-management challenges and quality of life. PRO measures (PROMs) range from generic instruments to diabetes-specific questionnaires and assess domains such as fatigue, depression, diabetes distress, treatment satisfaction and daily life interference. Standardisation of PRO definitions and selection of psychometrically sound PROMs are key to enhancing validity and comparability across research and practice. Embedding PRO collection in routine care and electronic health records has been associated with improved adherence, optimised glycaemic control and reduced emotional distress. Globally, the integration of PROs supports evaluation of novel therapies and service models, promoting patient-centred approaches and equitable health outcomes.
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Patient-Reported Outcomes in Diabetes Management publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in patient-reported outcomes in diabetes management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO): Information on health status directly reported by the patient, without external interpretation.
Patient-Reported Outcome Measure (PROM): A standardised instrument or questionnaire designed to collect PRO data.
Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL): A multidimensional concept covering physical, mental and social aspects of well-being as perceived by the patient.
Diabetes Distress: Emotional burden and worries specific to living with and managing diabetes.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA): A statistical technique used to assess whether data fit a predefined measurement model, often employed in PROM validation.
References
- Patient-reported outcomes for people with diabetes: what and how to measure? A narrative review. Diabetologia (2023).
- The best internal structure of the Diabetes Quality of Life Measure (DQOL) in Brazilian patients. BMC Public Health (2024).
- Investigation of treatment satisfaction and health-related quality of life after add-on to metformin-based therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes. Frontiers in Public Health (2023).
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