Abstract
BackgroundAlthough patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) have been found to have reduced quality of life, little is known about how other characteristics affect their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of other characteristics, including history of cancer, on quality of life in patients with CHC.MethodsOne hundred forty patients from clinics at three hospitals in New York City completed a detailed epidemiologic interview about demographic and lifestyle characteristics and the SF-36 measuring health-related quality of life. We compared results from our patients to normative data using t-tests of differences between means. We used multivariate analyses to determine other personal and health-related factors associated with quality of life outcomes.ResultsCompared to normative data, these patients had reduced quality of life, particularly on physical functioning. The summary Physical Component Score (PCS) was 45.4 ± 10.6 and the Mental Component Score (MCS) was 48.2 ± 11.1, vs norms of 50 ± 10.0; p-values were <0.0001 and <0.05, respectively. In multivariate analyses, the PCS was significantly lower among those with cancer history, ≥ 2 other chronic conditions, less education, low physical activity, and higher alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Cancer was more important for men, while other chronic conditions were more important for women. On the MCS, history of depression, low physical activity, alcohol use, and female gender were independently associated with poorer scores.ConclusionSeveral health and lifestyle factors independently influence quality of life in CHC patients. Different factors are important for men and women.
Highlights
Patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) have been found to have reduced quality of life, little is known about how other characteristics affect their quality of life
Study population Patients who tested positive for hepatitis C virus (HCV) by PCR were approached at outpatient clinics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), North General Hospital (NGH), and Mt
It seems possible that those who did not take part have poorer quality of life than those who did, which would imply that quality of life in all patients with CHC is reduced even further than that reported here and in similar studies. These results support those of other studies finding that patients with CHC have considerable impairment of quality of life. Our analysis extends these findings to show that other factors strongly influence quality of life in these patients, and that all patients with CHC are not at risk of reduced quality of life
Summary
Patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) have been found to have reduced quality of life, little is known about how other characteristics affect their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of other characteristics, including history of cancer, on quality of life in patients with CHC. Several studies investigating health-related quality of life have found reduced quality of life in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), on measures relating to physical functioning. Because of the types of exposures leading to CHC, these patients are likely to have other demographic, lifestyle, and health-related factors that affect their quality of life; such factors have not been wellevaluated in previous studies. We hypothesized that health-related quality of life among these patients would be reduced compared to the general population and that other health and lifestyle factors would have an impact on poorer quality of life
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