LIFE QUALITY OF FIREFIGHTERS OF THE CHORNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER PLAND DISASTER WITH COMORBIDITY OF ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION AND GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE

Abstract

This study was aimed at assessing the quality of life of 52 former fire-fighters of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant disaster with comorbidity of essential hypertension and gastroesophageal reflux disease. The subjects were divided into two groups similar by the sex and age (I group included 26 individuals with essential hypertension and II group included 26 individuals with comorbidity of essential hypertension and gastroesophageal reflux disease), their average age was 58,5±0,8 years. All patients received standard therapy (in accordance with the nosological form) added by the preparation Actovegin "Takeda Austria GmbH" in a dose of 200 mg once a day. The model, which underlies the designing of scales and total measurements of the SF-36 questionnaire, has three levels: 36 questions, 8 scales, formed by 2-10 questions; 2 total measurements, which are combined into scales. After calculating each indicator for separate scale, it was necessary to calculate the value of general indicators for the physical component and the psychological component of health taking into account the Z-value. In addition, when assessing the quality of life, three levels of assessment were conditionally identified: the minimum level ranged from 0 to 40 scores, satisfactory level – from 41 to 70 scores and the optimal ranged from 61 to 100 scores. The patients of the first group when having completed the therapy demonstrated statistically significantly improved indicators from 61.1 (0-100) scores to 71, 3 (0-100) (p ≤ 0.05) that consequently means the restrictions in role functioning due to physical condition (PF) decreased, overall health (OH) improved (scores increased from 42.7 (35-47) to 52.1 (47-60)) as well as the role functioning due to emotional state (ER) from 67.9 (0-100) to 76.5 (0-100) points. The second group when having completed the standard therapy added with Actovegin demonstrated statistically significantly improved indicators for most of the scales, and as a result, the subjective assessment of their quality of life was improved (p ≤ 0.05).
 Thus, the study has shown including Actovegin into standard therapy significantly improves most of the life quality parameters in both groups of the former fire-fighters of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant disaster. But, it should be noted that the indicators of pain scales and the state of overall health as parameters of life quality for the patients with comorbidy of hypertension and gastroesophageal reflux disease were fount at a minimum level compared with the patients having essential hypertension that indicates more significant restrictions in some fields of daily life activity for patients with comorbid pathology.