Sunday, June 19, 2011

Health Utilities and Psychometric Quality of Life in Patients With Early- and Late-Stage Hepatitis C Virus Infection.

J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2011 Jun 16. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1746.2011.06813.x. [Epub ahead of print]
 
Health Utilities and Psychometric Quality of Life in Patients With Early- and Late-Stage Hepatitis C Virus Infection.
 
 
Source
British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Division of Gastroenterology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Toronto General Research Institute, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Liver and Intestinal Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Department of Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Toronto Health Economics and Technology Assessment Collaborative (THETA), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract
Background and Aim: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with impairment in health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

The purpose of this study was to evaluate HRQOL across the HCV disease spectrum using preference-based (utility) and non-preference-based (psychometric) methods, adjusting for sociodemographic factors and co-morbidity.

Methods:
HCV patients (n = 751) were recruited from several tertiary care settings in Vancouver, Canada for this observational, cross-sectional cohort study. Patients completed the Health Utility Index Mark 2/3, a self-administered time trade-off utility instrument, and the Hepatitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (SF-36 with HCV-specific items).We examined the association between HRQOL and disease stage using linear regression adjusting for age, education, marital status, income, and co-morbidities.

Results:
Utility scores were low across disease stage and instrument, ranging from 0.51 to 0.80. On the SF-36, the mean Physical Component Summary score ranged from 37.2 to 49.2 across disease stage, and the Mental Component Summary score ranged from 39.7 to 45.7 (United States norms = 50).

In general, patients with viral clearance had the highest scores, and those with late-stage disease (cirrhosis, liver cancer) had the lowest. Multivariable linear regression showed that the effect of disease stage was modest overall. Increasing age, lower income, unattached marital status, and high comorbidity were strongly associated with impairment in HRQOL.

Conclusions:
The effect of stage of disease on HRQOL is modest, although viral clearance is associated with higher HRQOL. HCV patients' HRQOL is strongly associated with concomitant illness and sociodemographic factors.
© 2011 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

PMID:
21679248
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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