Health-related quality of life in patients with psoriasis: a systematic review of the European literature.

PURPOSE: To summarize the data published over the last 5 years in the European Union related to the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with psoriasis and its conditioning factors. METHODS: International electronic databases and gray literature were searched to identify studies conducted on patient-reported outcomes in patients with psoriasis, published in Europe between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2013. Bibliographic references were hand-searched. Editorials, letters, commentaries, opinion papers, and studies related to specific treatments were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 46 studies met the inclusion criteria, 27 of them reporting data related to HRQoL or its conditioning factors. The publications reviewed highlighted the substantial negative impact of psoriasis on patients' HRQoL. Most of the studies that analyzed the relationship between HRQoL and sociodemographic characteristics described a relation between gender (female) and age (young patients) and poorer HRQoL. An association between HRQoL impairment and visibility of skin lesions and disease activity and severity was also established. Skin discomfort and pruritus were identified as elements that negatively influenced HRQoL. Use of biological agents had a positive impact on HRQoL and on treatment satisfaction, a better HRQoL being seen in patients treated with systemic therapies and biologics. CONCLUSIONS: HRQoL has been broadly addressed in patients with psoriasis in Europe. Several disease- and patient-related factors contributed to its deterioration. Therapeutic measures with proven effectiveness in controlling disease symptoms and reducing PASI should be considered in patients with a severe disease who have a poorer HRQoL.

Efficacy of a home blood pressure monitoring programme on therapeutic compliance in hypertension: the EAPACUM-HTA study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of a programme of home blood pressure measurement (HBPM) on therapeutic compliance in mild-to-moderate hypertension. DESIGN: A prospective controlled multicentre clinical trial. SETTING: Forty primary care centres in Spain, with a duration of 6 months. PATIENTS: A total of 250 patients with newly diagnosed or uncontrolled hypertension were included. INTERVENTIONS: The patients were randomly selected and distributed in two groups: (1) the control group (CG) who received standard health intervention; (2) the intervention group (IG): the patients in this group received an OMRON in their homes for a programme of HBPM. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Four visits were scheduled, for the measurement of blood pressure (BP). They were provided with an electronic monitor for measuring compliance (monitoring events medication system; MEMS). Therapeutic compliance was defined as a drug consumption of 80-110%. A number of variables were calculated using the MEMS. The mean BP were calculated and the percentage of controlled patients. RESULTS: A total of 200 patients completed the study (100 in each group). Compliance was observed in 74 and 92%, respectively, in the CG and IG [95% confidence interval (CI) 63.9-84.1 and 86.7-97.3; P = 0.0001], the mean percentage compliances were 87.6 and 93.5% (95% CI 81.2-94 and 80.7-98.3; P = 0.0001), the percentages of correct days were 83.6 and 89.4%, the percentages of subjects who took the medication at the prescribed time were 79.89 and 88.06%, and the levels of therapeutic cover were 86.7 and 93.1%. The number needed to treat to avoid one case of non-compliance was 5.6 patients. The differences in the mean decreases in BP were significant for diastolic BP, with a greater decrease observed in the IG. CONCLUSIONS: An HBPM programme using electronic monitors is effective in improving compliance in arterial hypertension, measured using the MEMS.

Impact of upper digestive symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Functional digestive disorders constitute a sizable proportion of gastroenterology and primary healthcare consultations, and have a negative impact on health-related quality of life. Dyspepsia and heartburn are often associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); however, the incidence of these symptoms and their effect on IBS patients have not been evaluated. AIM: To investigate the clinical, psychological and health-related quality of life impact of upper digestive symptoms on IBS patients. METHODS: A prospective, observational, multicentered study was conducted in Spain: 517 IBS patients (Rome II criteria), grouped according to predominant symptoms of constipation (IBS-C), diarrhea (IBS-D) or alternating bowel habit (IBS-A) and 84 controls without IBS were recruited. Upper digestive symptoms were recorded in a 30-day diary. Health-related quality of life was evaluated by Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life and Euro-Quality of Life Five-Dimension Questionnaires; psychological well-being was evaluated by the Psychological General Well-Being Index. RESULTS: IBS patients had greater frequencies of upper digestive symptoms (72.3 vs. 6.0%), dyspepsia (21.1 vs. 4.8%) and heartburn (40.0 vs. 13.1%) (all P < 0.05) than controls. Prevalence of upper digestive symptoms was lower in patients with IBS-D than in those with IBS-C or IBS-A (P < 0.05). Health-related quality of life and psychological status were significantly worse in IBS patients with upper digestive symptoms than in those without. CONCLUSIONS: Upper digestive symptoms, frequently present in IBS patients, impair health-related quality of life and psychological status. This effect is greater in patients with IBS-C and IBS-A than in those with IBS-D. These data emphasize the importance of evaluating the presence of upper digestive symptoms in IBS patients.