To explore the relationship between social support, hypoglycemic fear (FoH) and quality of life in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and to test its mediating effect.

By using the method of convenience sampling, elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who visited Nanjing Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University were selected as the research subjects. The Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), the Chinese version of the Hypoglycemia Fear Questionnaire-Worry Scale (CHFSⅡ-WS), the Diabetes Specific Quality of Life Scale (DSQL), and a general questionnaire were used to investigate elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A structural equation model was established for the SSRS, CHFSⅡ-WS, and DSQL scores of elderly T2DM patients, and the mediating effect was tested through Bootstrap post hoc tests.

The effective sample size of this study was 115 cases. The total score of SSRS for elderly patients with T2DM was (38.71±6.25) points, and the score of CHFSⅡ-WS was (26.44±4.28) points; the total score of DSQL was (52.33±13.56) points (Higher DSQL scores mean worse quality of life). The results of the mediating effect test showed that FoH had a direct negative predictive effect on social support in elderly patients with T2DM (β=-0.696, P<0.001), social support had a direct negative predictive effect on quality of life (β=-0.532, P<0.001), indicating that higher levels of social support were associated with better quality of life and lower DSQL scores, and FoH had a direct positive predictive effect on quality of life (β=0.381, P<0.001); The mediating effect value was β=0.370, and the total effect value was β=0.751. The proportion of the mediating effect of social support was 49.27%, and the mediating effect was established.

There is a close correlation among social support, FoH and quality of life in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Social support has a partial mediating effect between FoH and quality of life, and the proportion of the mediating effect is 49.27%.