Assessing the quality of life among Pakistani general population and their associated factors by using the World Health Organization's quality of life instrument (WHOQOL-BREF): a population based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Measuring quality of life (QOL) in a population is important for the predictions of health and social care needs. In Pakistan, health related quality of life data exist but there are no quality of life data of general population. In this study, quality of life was assessed among the Pakistani general population and their associated factors by using the World Health Organization's quality of life instrument (WHOQOL-BREF). METHODOLOGY: A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out in all 52 Union Councils of District Abbottabad, Khaber Pkutunkhua province, Pakistan from March 2015 to August 2015. Multi-stage cluster sampling technique was employed in this study. Quality of life was measured by using the validated WHOQOL-BREF instrument, along with socioeconomic, demographic, and World Bank social capital questions in this population- based study. The data were collected through households, utilizing face to face interviews. The association between socio-demographic variables and quality of life domains were determined by using both univariate and multivariate analysis. Descriptive statistics were derived, and a multilevel linear regression using backward analysis allowing to obtain final model for each domain was achieved to recognize the variables that affect quality of life score. RESULTS: A total of 2063 participants were included in this study (51.2% male, 48.2% female). Mean age of participants was 37.9, SD = 13.2; ranging from 18 to 90. Mean score of quality of life domains (physical, psychological, social relationship and environmental domains) were 65.0 (SD = 15.2), 67.4 (SD = 15.0), 72.0 (SD = 16.5), 55.5 (SD = 15.0), respectively. Overall, socioeconomic status was established to be the strongest predictor of poorer quality of life for all domains as a change in SES from high to low results in reduction about (ß = - 5.85, ß = - 9.03, ß = - 8.33, ß = - 9.98, p < 0.001). Similarly, type of residency was negatively associated with physical, psychological and environmental domains while age and sex were negatively associated with physical, psychological and relationship domains in final model. Furthermore social capital (ß = 0.09, ß = 0.13, ß =0.14, ß =0.15, p < 0.001) had a positive effect on Pakistani quality of life. Overall, subjective quality of life was found to be low in our population and extremely varied by socio-demographic variables. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing age, having average and lower socioeconomic status and living in the rural area were found to be the strong predictor of poorer quality of life in all domains, while total social capital score had a positive effect on Pakistani quality of life scores.

Casual effect of methotrexate+etanercept/infliximab on survival of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background and objectives: Following the discovery of new drugs, physicians and pharmaceutical companies have become interested in examining patients' mortality and morbidity rates. In this respect, the effects of methotrexate (MTX)+etanercept/infliximab (ETA/INF) therapy on the survival of rheumatoid arthritis patients (RA) were evaluated in this study using marginal structural piecewise constant baseline hazard model. Patients and methods: According to the standard protocol, MTX is considered as the first-line treatment for RA patients. If there is no adequate response to MTX, biologic drugs will be added. To compare the survival rates of RA patients in MTX- and MTX+ETA/INF-treated groups, the piecewise constant baseline hazard model was fitted. Then, due to the existence of the time-dependent confounder (VAS) which was affected by previous treatment, the weight for each person-time was calculated via the inverse probability treatment weighting method. These weights were then used by marginal structural piecewise constant baseline hazard model. Finally, these models were compared. Results: The median (IQR) of the follow-up period in patients receiving MTX+ETN/INF and MTX was 11 (15.25) and 11 (31), respectively, and the 8-year survival rate was reported by 70% versus 68%, respectively. First, the piece-wise constant baseline hazard model was fitted. Fitting the given model showed that MTX+ETA/INF had a significant effect on patients' survival (HR=0.789, 95% CI [0.634, 0.983]). Second, marginal structural piecewise constant baseline hazard model was fitted. But, the results of this model revealed that MTX+ETA/INF did not have a significant impact on patients' survival (HR=0.968, 95% CI [0.860, 1.090]). Conclusion: Adjusting the pain score over time as a time-dependent confounder via marginal structural piecewise constant baseline hazard model, it has been demonstrated that MTX+ETA/INF does not have a significant effect on patients' survival rates. Therefore, a significant difference can be found between survival rates of these groups using longitudinal studies.

Additional effect of etanercept or infliximab on the liver function tests of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a cohort study.

PURPOSE: One of the most important long-term side effects of therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the elevation of liver function tests, with earlier studies reporting an elevation of more than 1× the upper limit of normal (>1 × ULN). The current study expands the literature by comparing the trends of transaminase changes caused by conventional and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The drug categories examined were methotrexate (MTX) and all other nonbiologic DMARDs. Where RA patients exhibited inadequate response to conventional DMARDs (cDMARDs), we added biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs) to the treatment. We compared the trend of changes in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in the patients receiving MTX with the trend observed in the patients whose treatment encompassed both bDMARDs and MTX. The comparison was conducted using random intercept models, which are a type of linear mixed effects model. RESULTS: This work involved 512 RA patients (MTX: 450, MTX + infliximab [INF]: 26, MTX + etanercept [ETA]: 36), whose ALT and/or AST levels were measured in 1,786 visits (MTX: 1,543, MTX + INF: 107, MTX + ETA: 136). ALT and/or AST elevations greater than 1 × ULN were observed in 344 (19.3%) visits (MTX: 295 [19.1%], MTX + INF/ETA: 49 [20.2%]). In this study, the trends of ALT and AST changes increased when receiving MTX, while the INF/ETA addition decreased these trends. The random intercept models indicated that changes in the mean ALT levels were significantly different over the time for MTX and MTX + INF/ETA groups (ß [SE] =-0.190 [0.093], P= 0.040) but changes in the mean AST levels were nonsignificantly different over the time for such groups (ß [SE] =-0.099 [0.064], P=0.120). CONCLUSION: Despite a higher incidence of elevated transaminases during the use of MTX + INF/ETA, the combination of INF/ETA with MTX reduced transaminase levels and returned ALT levels to normal concentrations.