Abstract: 15 year literatures from databases such as MEDLINE, PUBMED, and CNKI were reviewed. The foundings indicate that there are a lot of scales to assess diabetic specific quality of life, but no one can involve the following aspects: body function, body structure, activity and participation, and environmental factors except ICF core sets for diabetes mellitus which involve the four aspects listed above. Nowadays an international multi-center validation study of the ICF core sets for 12 chronic conditions is ongoing, and so far there has been no report on the validation of the ICF core sets for diabetes mellitus yet. Through the validation study of the ICF core sets for diabetes mellitus, it is anticipated that the ICF core sets for diabetes mellitus can comprehensively describe health and functional status of diabetic patients, thus can create a valid and common tool or language to assess diabetes mellitus. It will facilitate communication between different disciplines and countries, provide effective interventions and finally improve health and functional level of diabetic patients.

Key words: diabetes mellitus, health-related quality of life, International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), core sets, review