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Health-related QOL not reduced in European IBD patients 10 years after diagnosis
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European patients with inflammatory bowel disease did not have reduced health-related quality of life 10 years after their diagnosis compared with the general population overall, although certain subgroups of patients did, according to new research data.
As part of the European Collaborative study group of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (EC-IBD) project, Gert Huppertz-Hauss, MD, from the department of gastroenterology at Telemark Hospital in Norway, and colleagues aimed to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a European population-based cohort of IBD patients 10 years after diagnosis, to identify how HRQoL differs by country and the variables associated with those differences, and to compare HRQoL of IBD patients with the general population. Of 2,201 patients enrolled in the population-based prospective EC-IBD cohort between October 1991 and September 1993, 769 patients (two-thirds with ulcerative colitis) from nine centers in seven countries were included in the final analysis of the 10-year follow up study performed between August 2002 and January 2004. HRQoL was assessed using Short Form (36) Health Survey scores completed by the IBD cohort and nationwide representative samples for each country’s general population.
Gert Huppertz-Hauss
They found that older age and female gender were associated with lower scores for multiple dimensions of the SF-36, whereas higher education was associated with higher scores for multiple dimensions. Adjusting for age, sex, education level and country, independent variables for reduced HRQoL included having symptoms at follow-up, having ever received disablement pension, and taking sick leave during the previous year. There were significant country-specific differences in seven of the eight SF-36 dimensions. Country-specific comparisons of HRQoL of IBD patients with the general population demonstrated only small differences of “minor clinical importance.”
“Patients with IBD from six European countries and Israel do not, in general, have clinically relevant decreased HRQoL 10 years after diagnosis compared with the background populations,” the researchers wrote. “However, the HRQoL is reduced in subgroups of patients. Current symptoms, several episodes of sick leave during the year before follow-up, receiving disease-related disablement pension, being female and higher age are associated with reduced HRQoL. Country-specific differences in the HRQoL seemed to be caused by disease activity in the form of current symptoms, number of sick leaves over the previous year, and disablement pension due to IBD.” – by Adam Leitenberger
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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