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Diabetes mellitus is a serious public health problem worldwide. Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease which prevails in childhood; it is characterized by the persistence of high levels of glucose in the blood as a consequence of a deficit in the secretion or in the action of insulin. Type 1 diabetes mellitus has a chronic evolution and impacts the quality of life of patients. In order to describe the predictors of quality of life of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus in Latin American countries, a systematic search was carried out in PubMed, Redalyc, SciELO, Scopus and Web of Science databases with the terms "SF-36", "WHOQOL" and "diabetes". A total of 2168 articles were identified, out of which only five were included in the qualitative analysis. It was found that comorbidities and complications decrease the quality of life of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, and factors such as adequate therapeutic adherence, good metabolic control, psychosocial and emotional well-being have a positive impact on the quality of life of these patients. Comorbidities and complications in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus are the main predictors of poor quality of life.La diabetes mellitus es un grave problema de salud pública en todo el mundo. Es una enfermedad metabólica de predominio en la infancia y se caracteriza por la persistencia de una glucemia elevada como consecuencia de un déficit en la secreción o en la acción de la insulina. Es de evolución crónica e impacta en la calidad de vida de los pacientes. Con el fin de describir los predictores de la calidad de vida de los pacientes con diabetes mellitus tipo 1 en los países latinoamericanos se realizó una búsqueda sistematizada en las bases de datos PubMed, Redalyc, SciELO, Scopus y Web of Science con los términos “SF-36”, “WHOQOL” y “diabetes”. Se identificaron 2168 artículos, de los cuales solo cinco fueron incluidos en el análisis cualitativo. Se encontró que la comorbilidad y las complicaciones disminuyen la calidad de vida de los pacientes con diabetes mellitus tipo 1, y que factores como la adecuada adherencia terapéutica, el buen control metabólico y el bienestar psicosocial y emocional impactan positivamente en la calidad de vida de estos pacientes. La comorbilidad y las complicaciones que presentan los pacientes con diabetes mellitus tipo 1 son los principales predictores de mala calidad de vida.

Objective Diabetes mellitus is a serious public health problem that causes a decrease in the patients’ quality of life. The present study was aimed to analyze the quality of life of patients with diabetes mellitus in Latin-American population through a systematic review, using the two instruments of greater validity and reliability at international level, SF-36 and WHOQOL. Methods We performed extensive searches in Redalyc, SciELO, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases. To delimit our search, we only included countries that are members of the Latin American Association of Diabetes. We identified 2168 articles, where 35 were considered relevant for this systematic review. Results Our results showed that patients that regularly receive guidance and treatment to control the diabetes, showed better quality of life; in contrast, patients with foot ulcers or comorbidities showed the worse quality of life. Conclusion The current literature analysis suggests that this disease greatly influences in the quality of life of the patients.