Health-related quality of life among blood donors with hepatitis B and hepatitis C: longitudinal study before and after diagnosis.

INTRODUCTION: There is evidence that patients suffering from chronic hepatic diseases, including chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C, have a reduced health-related quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the notification of test results for hepatitis B and hepatitis C on the quality of life of blood donors. METHODS: Over a 29-month period, this study assessed the quality of life of 105 blood donors with positive serological screening tests for hepatitis B and hepatitis C and donors who presented false-positive test results. The Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire was applied at three time points: (1) when an additional blood sample was collected for confirmatory tests; (2) when donors were notified about their serological status; and (3) when donors, positive for hepatitis B and hepatitis C, started clinical follow-up. Quality of life scores for the confirmed hepatitis B and hepatitis C groups were compared to the false-positive control group. RESULTS: The domains bodily pain, general health perception, social function, and mental health and the physical component improved significantly in donors with hepatitis C from Time Point 1 to Time Point 3. Health-related quality of life scores of donors diagnosed with hepatitis B and hepatitis C were significantly lower in six and four of the eight domains, respectively, compared to the false-positive control group. CONCLUSION: A decreased quality of life was detected before and after diagnosis in blood donors with hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Contrary to hepatitis B positive donors, the possibility of medical care may have improved the quality of life among hepatitis C positive donors.

Health-related quality of life among blood donors with hepatitis B and hepatitis C: longitudinal study before and after diagnosis

Introduction: There is evidence that patients suffering from chronic hepatic diseases, including chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C, have a reduced health-related quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the notification of test results for hepatitis B and hepatitis C on the quality of life of blood donors. Methods: Over a 29-month period, this study assessed the quality of life of 105 blood donors with positive serological screening tests for hepatitis B and hepatitis C and donors who presented false-positive test results. The Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire was applied at three time points: (1) when an additional blood sample was collected for confirmatory tests; (2) when donors were notified about their serological status; and (3) when donors, positive for hepatitis B and hepatitis C, started clinical follow- up. Quality of life scores for the confirmed hepatitis B and hepatitis C groups were compared to the false-positive control group. Results: The domains bodily pain, general health perception, social function, and mental health and the physical component improved significantly in donors with hepatitis C from Time Point 1 to Time Point 3. Health-related quality of life scores of donors diagnosed with hepatitis B and hepatitis C were significantly lower in six and four of the eight domains, respectively, compared to the false-positive control group. Conclusion: A decreased quality of life was detected before and after diagnosis in blood donors with hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Contrary to hepatitis B positive donors, the pos- sibility of medical care may have improved the quality of life among hepatitis C positive donors.

Altered quality of life in the early stages of chronic hepatitis C is due to the virus itself.

UNLABELLED: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is impaired in chronic viral hepatitis and a direct role of the virus, although suggested, has not been demonstrated. Our aim was to evaluate HRQOL at blood donation before knowledge of the diagnosis of both hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) so as to elucidate this matter. METHODS: Prospectively, 67 sequential patients, 35 with HCV and 32 with HBV, and 67 matched controls were administered the generic Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire. After knowledge of diagnosis, the SF-36 was repeated and a disease-specific questionnaire (Liver Disease Quality of Life, LDQOL-1.0) was also administered. The Wilcoxon test and Mann-Whitney U were used for between-group comparisons. RESULTS: Before knowledge of diagnosis, patients with HCV had worse HRQOL than controls, with statistically significant changes in 7/8 domains of the SF-36, and also in its physical and mental components. In the HBV group, only 2/8 domains and the physical component were significantly different from controls. After diagnosis, similar changes persisted in the HCV group, whereas two more domains were compromised in the HBV group. Comparisons between the HCV and HBV groups did not show significant differences. CONCLUSION: The finding of greater HRQOL impairment in the HCV group before diagnosis confirms the theory that the presence of HCV in the early stage of the disease is associated with worse quality of life.

Worse quality of life in volunteer blood donors with hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) encompasses many different aspects of health perceived by the individual, and its alterations in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) have been recently reported. The objective was to study a population of volunteer blood donors at different stages of HCV liver disease. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), a generic tool, was used to evaluated HRQOL. The SF-36 scores of HCV patients were compared with those of matched healthy blood donors and at the sixth month in those who were submitted to antiviral treatment. Sex, drug use, and alcohol consumption were also evaluated. A total of 120 HCV chronic carriers were divided into three groups: 1) patients with no indication for liver biopsy (n = 37); 2) patients submitted to liver biopsy with mild liver disease (n = 40); and 3) patients with moderate to severe liver disease submitted to interferon plus ribavirin treatment (n = 43). RESULTS: HCV patients had significantly lower SF-36 scores when compared with matched healthy blood donors. There was no correlation between SF-36 scores and history of intravenous and/or inhaled drug use or alcohol consumption. Women had lower SF-36 scores than men in six domains. At the sixth month of treatment, patients who continued to be positive for the presence of HCV RNA (nonresponders) had lower quality of life than those who became HCV RNA-negative. CONCLUSION: Healthy blood donors with HCV showed significantly reduced HRQOL that was more marked in women. The presence of the virus is one of the possible explanations for the reduced HRQOL.

Avaliação de qualidade de vida em candidatos à doação de sangue, portadores do vírus de hepatite C / Health related quality of life in cadidates to blood donation carriers of hepatitis C virus

Avaliamos a qualidade de vida em portadores do VHC utilizando dois questionários, genérico e específico.Os pacientes apresentaram pontuações menores que as do grupo controle,doadores de sangue antiVHC negativo. As mulheres mostraram pior qualidade de vida.Nos diferentes estadiamentos da doença encontramos significância estatística nas questões específicas.No sexto mês de tratamento, os pacientes que negativaram o RNA-VHC, mostraram melhor qualidade de vida em relaçao aos que permaneceram positivos / To evaluate the quality of life in HCV carries, we used generic and specific tools. The patients had lower scores than the control group constituted by blood donors HCV negatives. The women showed worse quality of life. In relation to severity of the disease were found statistically significant differences in specific questions. Those who had become HCV-RNA-negative in the sixth month of treatment, presented better quality of life...

Intrumento de avaliação de qualidade de vida para pacientes com doenças hepáticas, LDQOL 1.0("Liver Diseases Quality of Life") / Tool to evaluate the quality of life of patients with liver disease - LDQOL 1.0

Os instrumentos utilizados para avaliar qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde (QVRS) auxiliam no conhecimento do impacto da doença sobre as atividades diárias e na interpretação de procedimentos terapêuticos. No Brasil não existe um instrumento específico para analisar qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde em pacientes com doenças hepáticas. O "Liver Disease Quality of Life", LDQOL 1.0, é um instrumento próprio para hepatopatias e foi desenvolvido nos EUA. Consiste em 75 itens específicos sobre fígado, associados ao questionário genérico SF-36, já traduzido e validado no Brasil. O objetivo do presente estudo é produzir uma versão apropriada do LDQOL 1.0 em português. Método: A adaptação cultural se deu em três fases: a) tradução do questionário da versão original em língua inglesa para a língua portuguesa, com anuência do autor; b) a retrotradução para o inglês da nova versão e sua comparação com a versão original; c) teste piloto em pacientes com hepatopatia pelo vírus C. Após a verificação do índice de compreensão das questões, e de algumas alterações necessárias, gerou-se a versão número 3, a qual foi aplicada a outro grupo de pacientes com hepatopatia pelo vírus C. Resultados: A média de idade dos pacientes foi de 40 anos, variando de 21 a 62 anos, com escolaridade fundamental incompleta em 10%, a maioria deles do sexo masculino, 65%. Dos 12 domínios avaliados no novo questionário, todas as questões foram facilmente compreendidas, exceto uma, referente ao domínio "função sexual", a qual foi modificada para maior clareza. Conclusão: Um novo instrumento de avaliação de qualidade de vida, o LDQOL, específico para doenças hepáticas, foi traduzido para a língua portuguesa, com a devida adaptação cultural