Evaluation of the quality of life and functional status of patients with chronic diseases

Abstract

Introduction : A chronic disease adversely affects human function in all areas of life. Therefore, an assessment of the quality of life of patients with chronic diseases is incredibly important. The main objective of this work is to present an assessment of the quality of life and functional status of patients with chronic diseases. Materials and methods : The study was conducted on 294 adults diagnosed with chronic diseases, lasting for at least 3 months. The mean age of patients was 60.14 years. The study was performed with the EORTC QLQ-C30, Barthel Index and Cantril’s Ladder. Results : The mean result of the general quality of life in all patients was 47.04 (SD ±22.19). The best quality of life was found in cognitive functioning (mean = 73.86; SD ±24.12), and the worst in social role functioning (mean = 59.51; SD ±37.78). Being independent in self-care significantly affected the quality of life (p < 0.001). In terms of sociodemographic factors, only age (p = 0.0012) and sex (p = 0.0176) had a statistically significant effect on the general quality of life of patients. Cantril’s Ladder of life satisfaction scores in the past, present and anticipated future (3 years from now) were 8.07, 5.44 and 5.16, respectively. Conclusions : The functional status of patients, the age and sex of patients had a statistically significant effect on the quality of life.