Abstract
Introduction: The prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide acquires epidemic dimensions. In Europe, five nosological groups (diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and mental disabilities) constitute 77% of NCDs and cause about 86% of deaths in the region.Objectives: This study aimed to assess the quality of life in patients with chronic non-communicable diseases under dispensary observation.Methods: The pilot cross-sectional study was performed among adult with chronic diseases in primary care practices in the Plovdiv district (the second largest in Bulgaria) from May to June 2013.Results: A total of 200 adults with chronic diseases participated in the study. The mean age was 55.6 years (range 25–95, standard deviation (SD) 16.9). The most common chronic diseases in our study were cardiovascular 51% (ischemic heart disease, hypertension, etc.), followed by endocrinology diseases (23%). There was statistically significant differences in the assessments of "general health" in different groups of participants by gender (χ2 = 16.65, P <0.002), age (χ2 = 12.57, P <0.05) and social status (χ2 = 28.54, P <0.0001).Conclusion: The subjective assessment of health is a factor that has a strong impact on the quality of life of patients and is an important component in evaluating the effectiveness of provided health care for patients with chronic non-communicable diseases.
Highlights
The prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide acquires epidemic dimensions
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) - 3⁄4 of them occur in lowand middle-income countries, and over 16 million people are getting sick before the age of 70 (WHO, 2014; Lim et al, 2012)
12 medical experts with extensive experience in the care of patients with chronic disease completed an open ended questionnaire in which they listed items that have a significant impact on the quality of life of patients with NCD; the importance of each item was ranked on a five point scale where 1 was the least important and 5 was the most important
Summary
In Europe, five nosological groups (diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and mental disabilities) constitute 77% of NCDs and cause about 86% of deaths in the region. The prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide acquires epidemic dimensions. The most common NCDs are cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes mellitus. In Europe, five nosological groups (diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and mental disabilities) constitute 77% of NCDs and cause about 86% of deaths in the region (Busse et al, 2010). NCDs cause 80% of deaths with diseases of the circulatory system being the most prevalent (67.5%), followed by malignant neoplasms with (15.1%), diabetes mellitus (8.3%) and others (Mateva & Nonchev, 2015)
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