Health-related quality of life in cirrhotic patients: a case-control study.

Background: Assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with cirrhosis has been increasingly reported in literature.  Aims: To compare quality of life scores between cirrhotic patients and healthy controls and to assess factors associated with the impairment of quality of life in cirrhotic patients.

Methods: HRQOL was measured in cirrhotic patients by the Tunisian version of MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36) and the Arabic version of the Liver Disease Symptom index 2.0 (LDSI2.0). Age-and sex- matched controls were asked to complete only the SF36. The SF36 scores were compared between cirrhotic patients and controls and LDSI2.0 scores were compared across cirrhotic patients according to the characteristics of cirrhosis. Factors associated with poor perceived health status were identified by logistic regression.

Results: Fifty cirrhotic patients and fifty controls were enrolled in the study. The cirrhotic group had significantly lower SF36 scores than healthy controls in all 8 dimensions (p<0.001). Most impaired LDSI items were severity of fear of complications (item 8), change in use of time (item 13), decreased sexual interest (item 14) and decreased sexual activity (item 15). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that female sex (p=0.009), diabetes (p=0.046), treatment with diuretics (p=0.022), increased levels of serum bilirubin (p=0.045) and prolonged prothrombin time (p=0.041) were associated with poorer HRQOL.

Conclusions: HRQOL was significantly more impaired in cirrhotic patients than controls. Female sex, diabetes, treatment with diuretics, increased levels of serum bilirubin and prolonged prothrombin time were important factors in reducing HRQOL.