Quality Of Life In Korean Patients Research Articles

The influence of symptoms on quality of life among patients who have undergone oesophageal cancer surgery.

After oesophagectomy, anatomical changes and loss of function induce various symptoms that may affect quality of life (QoL) in oesophageal cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing QoL in Korean patients who have undergone oesophageal cancer surgery. This was a cross-sectional study of a convenience sample consisting of 120 surgery patients with oesophageal cancer. We used the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-OES18 to measure participants' oesophageal cancer-related symptoms and QoL. Multiple regression analyses were applied to analyse to the relationship between cancer-related symptoms and QoL. The average score of oesophageal cancer-related symptoms was 19.28 points, and the most common symptom was reflux. The mean score for global health status/QoL was 60.55. There were significant differences in the functional and symptom subscales according to financial burden, operation type (procedure), and treatment period. Dysphagia most affected global health status/QoL, and eating problems most affected the functional and symptom subscales. Dysphagia and eating problems were confirmed to be the most common symptoms affecting the QoL of patients who had undergone oesophageal cancer surgery. These results can be used to aid in the development of strategies to better manage symptoms in these patients.

Quality of Life Assessment in Korean Patients with Pemphigus.

BackgroundMeasuring the quality of life (QOL) is important in the evaluation of nonclinical aspects of diseases, for the discovery of functional and psychological limitations, and in choosing treatment in the initial phase of the disease. Pemphigus is a potentially fatal autoimmune bullous disease caused by autoantibodies against desmogleins (cadherin family proteins in desmosomes). Thus far, there has been no published study on QOL in Korean patients with pemphigus.ObjectiveTo study the impact of pemphigus on the QOL in a large number of Korean patients.MethodsSixty-six patients enrolled at the Gangnam Severance Hospital from March 2012 to March 2013 were assessed for QOL by using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), and for anxiety and depression by using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Spearman's rank-order correlation, t-test, and ANOVA were used to identify the relations between the DLQI score and other clinical variables.ResultsPemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus significantly reduced the QOL of patients. The average DLQI score for all patients was 10.18. The mean DLQI score was 13.45 in patients in the active state and 5.15 in the patients in the remission state. The DLQI score highly correlated with disease severity, titer of anti-desmoglein 1 in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the corticosteroid dose. However, the QOL was not affected by sex, age, subtype of pemphigus, duration of disease, or comorbidities. Forty-two percent of the patients showed a positive result in the GHQ, reflecting probable minor psychiatric nonpsychotic conditions, and the GHQ score positively correlated to the DLQI score.ConclusionPemphigus significantly impairs the QOL of patients. The QOL of Korean pemphigus patients significantly correlates with clinical severity. Therefore, considerable attention should be paid to the patients' QOL and psychological states as well as clinical status.

Changes of Quality of Life in Gastric Cancer Patients After Curative Resection

Little is known about how quality of life (QOL) changes over time after gastrectomy. We prospectively examined changes of QOL in Korean patients with gastric cancer after curative resection. As early detection and improved treatment have led to higher survival rates and an increasing number of long-term survivors, the importance of QOL has increased. Patients newly diagnosed with gastric cancer, who were expected to undergo curative resection, were studied. QOL was assessed, using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and its gastric module QLQ-STO22, before and after 3 and 12 months of gastrectomy. In total, 465 patients were included in the study, and 377 and 88 patients underwent subtotal gastrectomy and total gastrectomy, respectively. For most of the functional or symptom scales, the mean score deteriorated at 3 months and generally improved during follow-up period. Patients with total gastrectomy had more functional and symptomatic problems related to QOL than those with subtotal gastrectomy during the follow-up. For both groups, there were temporal, unrecovered, improved, and unchanged problems in QOL. Fatigue; digestive symptoms such as diarrhea, dysphagia, and eating restrictions; body image disturbance; and cognitive functioning were the representative unrecovered problems, which persisted at 12 months after surgery. Our findings show that there are various functional and symptomatic problems, which health care providers need to manage during the postsurgical period. We need to continuously address fatigue, diarrhea, dysphagia, eating restrictions, body image disturbance, and cognitive functioning. In addition, it would be necessary to inform patients about possible QOL outcomes while they are receiving information about surgery and signing informed consent for surgery.

Clinical evaluation of the computerized Chronic Urticaria-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire in Korean patients with chronic urticaria

Chronic urticaria (CU) is a common skin disorder that affects the well-being and quality of life (QOL) of patients. Recently, we developed and validated a questionnaire for measuring QOL in Korean patients with CU, called the Chronic Urticaria-Specific Quality of Life (CU-QOL) questionnaire. To evaluate the clinical significance of a computerized version of the CU-QOL, in adult patients with CU. This was a cross-sectional observational study that enrolled 249 Korean patients with CU from five university hospitals and measured computerized CU-QOL scores and Urticaria Activity Score (UAS) simultaneously. The internal consistency of the computerized CU-QOL was analysed using Cronbach α. To identify clinical correlations between the CU-QOL and patient characteristics, the atopic status and serum autoantibodies, including antinuclear, antithyroglobulin and antimicrosome antibodies, were measured. Multiple linear regression models were used to identify CU-QOL predictors. Cronbach α was 0.94 for the overall computerized CU-QOL score. The CU-QOL scores correlated significantly with the UAS (r= -0.49, P<0.001). Of the factors aggravating CU, delayed pressure, sunlight exposure and emotional stress significantly influenced the overall CU-QOL scores in the univariate analysis. Multivariate regression models indicated that UAS and emotional stress were significant predictors of the four domains and of the total CU-QOL scores. The computerized CU-QOL is a convenient and valid tool for measuring QOL in patients with CU. This study suggests that UAS, dermatographism and emotional stress are strong CU-QOL predictors in Korean patients with CU.

Factors associated with subjective quality of life in Korean patients with depressive disorders: the CRESCEND study

A number of studies suggest that depression is associated with the significant disability and the poorer subjective quality of life (QOL). We aimed to assess subjective QOL in Korean patients with depression and explore the factors (sociodemographic characteristics and clinical features) associated with subjective QOL. We obtained the data from 808 depressive patients who entered the Clinical Research Center for Depression (CRESCEND) study and evaluated the relationship between subjective QOL and personal sociodemographics, and various clinical features, including depressive severity, and subjective QOL. We assessed subjective QOL using the 26-item abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument. Decrements in patients' physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment domains of subjective QOL were all strongly associated with the greater depressive symptom severity. After controlling for age and depressive symptom severity, the lower subjective QOL was independently related to being divorced or separated, the less monthly household income, and having no religious practices. Our results suggest the importance of sociodemographic characteristics in addition to symptoms for the understanding of subjective QOL in depressed patients. The prospective studies to compare the different treatments' effects on various subjective QOL domains are needed.

Reliability and Validity of Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey, Korean Version

BackgroundThe Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey (WURSS) is a self-administered questionnaire developed in the United States to evaluate the severity of the common cold and its reliability has been validated. We developed a Korean language version of this questionnaire by using a sequential forward and backward translation approach. The purpose of this study was to validate the Korean version of the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey (WURSS-K) in Korean patients with common cold.MethodsThis multicenter prospective study enrolled 107 participants who were diagnosed with common cold and consented to participate in the study. The WURSS-K includes 1 global illness severity item, 32 symptom-based items, 10 functional quality-of-life (QOL) items, and 1 item assessing global change. The SF-8 was used as an external comparator.ResultsThe participants were 54 women and 53 men aged 18 to 42 years. The WURSS-K showed good reliability in 10 domains, with Cronbach’s alphas ranging from 0.67 to 0.96 (mean: 0.84). Comparison of the reliability coefficients of the WURSS-K and WURSS yielded a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.71 (P = 0.02). Validity of the WURSS-K was evaluated by comparing it with the SF-8, which yielded a Pearson correlation coefficient of −0.267 (P < 0.001). The Guyatt’s responsiveness index of the WURSS-K ranged from 0.13 to 0.46, and the correlation coefficient with the WURSS was 0.534 (P < 0.001), indicating that there was close correlation between the WURSS-K and WURSS.ConclusionsThe WURSS-K is a reliable, valid, and responsive disease-specific questionnaire for assessing symptoms and QOL in Korean patients with common cold.

Development and Validation of the Korean Version of Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite: Questionnaire Assessing Health-Related Quality of Life after Prostate Cancer Treatment

PurposeAlthough the quality of life (QoL) of prostate cancer (PCa) patients is a major issue, there is no unified and useful methodology for assessing QoL. The Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) is a globally used tool to measure QoL after PCa treatment that comprises urinary, bowel, sexual, and hormonal domains. Acknowledging the need for such a tool applicable to Korean PCa patients, we translated EPIC into Korean and validated the new version.Materials and MethodsThe Korean version of EPIC was devised by translation, back-translation, and reconciliation. Subsequently, we randomly selected 153 patients with localized PCa treated with radical perineal prostatectomy (67, 43.8%), radical retropubic prostatectomy (19, 12.4%), laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (12, 7.8%), robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (36, 23.5%), and high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation of the prostate (19, 12.4%) and asked them to complete EPIC. Reliability was assessed by test-retest correlation and Cronbach's alpha. Validity was assessed by factor analysis, interscale correlation, and correlation with Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P).ResultsTest-retest correlation and Cronbach's alpha were high in each of the domains (0.92, 0.91, 0.76, 0.84 and 0.86, 0.84, 0.92, 0.83, p<0.0001). Interscale correlation among the domains was low (r<0.37), which indicated that EPIC is composed of proper domains. Interscale correlation between the function and bother subscales was high (0.94, 0.81, 0.84 and 0.80, p<0.0001). EPIC domains had low correlation with FACT-P, permitting complementary use.ConclusionsThe Korean version of EPIC was developed by a proper process, as evident by its high reliability and validity. Therefore, it is a reliable, comprehensive, systematic method that evaluates QoL in Korean patients after PCa treatment. Furthermore, it can be adapted as an objective methodology for research globally.

The Impact of Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria on Quality of Life in Korean Patients

Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is a relatively common disease, and yet not much is known about the causative factors or its pathophysiology, which makes it difficult to cure. Due to its chronic nature, many patients have significantly reduced quality of life (QOL). The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of CIU on QOL of Korean patients, and to determine whether a relationship exists between QOL and the severity of disease. One hundred sixty three patients with CIU, who first visited our out-patient clinic between August 2005 and July 2007, were asked to complete two questionnaires: one designed to assess the clinical features of their disease; the other on the influences of CIU on their daily lives. QOL was divided into six categories: mental status (MS), daily living activities (DLA), leisure activities (LA), self-perception (SP), treatment-induced restrictions (TIR), and social functions (SF). All of the QOL scores were recalibrated to a 0~100 scale, with 100 indicating the worst QOL, and 0 the best. THE AVERAGE QOL SCORES OBTAINED FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE WERE AS FOLLOWS: SP (13.1+/-4.6), DLA (12.0+/-4.3), MS (10.3+/-3.3), SF (8.5+/-3.4), LA (6.1+/-3.0), and TIR (5.5+/-2.6). SP was the domain that was most affected; TIR the least. There were positive correlations between pairs of the six different QOL categories (p<0.001). These results demonstrate that CIU exerts an influence on many aspects of QOL. TIR was significantly affected in longer term CIU cases (p<0.05), while SP, MS, DLA, SF, and SR scores did not correlate with disease duration. Disease severity was found to have a significant impact on SP, MS, SF, and LA (p<0.05). In patients with concurrent physical urticaria, DLA and SF scores were significantly affected (p<0.05). Based on these results, it is suggested that CIU has a negative impact on QOL in Korean patients. Therefore, it is important to recognize the effects CIU can have on QOL and consider them in evaluating the response to treatment.

Symptom experience, psychological distress, and quality of life in Korean patients with liver cirrhosis: A cross-sectional survey

Background In patients with cirrhosis, quality of life (QOL) is seriously impaired and associated with particular symptoms such as fatigue, muscle cramps or pruritus. However, there is lack of evidence about the overall symptom experience in patients with cirrhosis, in addition, most studies on QOL have focused only on identifying the relationship between disease-related variables such as disease severity, etiology or serological markers and QOL. Objectives This study aimed to describe symptom experience, psychological distress, and QOL in Korean patients with liver cirrhosis, and to identify the factors that predict their quality of life. Design This study is a cross-sectional, descriptive design. Settings The participants were recruited over a 2-month period, September 27 to November 25, 2003 from the outpatient or inpatient departments of gastroenterology at two large university hospitals in Seoul, Korea. Participants There were 129 patients, mean age was 53.6 years, who met eligibility criteria and agreed to participate in the study. Methods Symptom experience was measured with a scale developed by the researchers through a literature review on liver cirrhosis. Psychological distress was measured with the anxiety/depression category from the modified Korean version of the profile of mood states (POMS) [Shin, 1996. A study on verification of the profile of mood states (POMS) for Korean elders. Journal of Korean Academic Nursing 26, 743–758], and QOL was measured with quality of life index (QLI) developed by Ferrans and Powers [1985, Quality of life index: development and psychometric properties. Advances in Nursing Science 8, 15–24. www.uic.edu.orgs/qli]. Results The results indicated that (1) overall symptom experience score was relatively low, major symptoms needing a management were fatigue, ascites and/or edema, and muscle cramps; (2) the mean score of psychological distress revealed mild to moderate levels of anxiety and depression; (3) quality of life was found to be seriously impaired; (4) psychological distress, employment status, and symptom experience were significant predictors of QOL, and explained 29.8% of the total variance. Conclusion These results indicate that symptom management, which includes attention to associated psychological intervention, is imperative for improvement in the QOL in Korean patients with liver cirrhosis.