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Contributors to individual quality of life after liver transplantation
Author(s) -
Thiel Christian,
Landgrebe Kerstin,
Knubben Evelyn,
Nadalin Silvio,
Ladurner Ruth,
Grasshoff Christian,
Königsrainer Alfred,
Schenk Martin,
Thiel Karolin
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1111/eci.12007
Subject(s) - quality of life (healthcare) , mental health , transplantation , population , medicine , gerontology , liver transplantation , psychology , demography , psychiatry , environmental health , nursing , sociology
Eur J Clin Invest 2012 Abstract Background With increasing improvements of patient survival after liver transplantation, the focus on outcome measures shifts from survival rate to quality of life. Individual quality of life is crucial to rehabilitate patients after transplantation. Therefore, it is important to identify specific issues that contribute to high individual quality of life. In contrast to the Short form 36 Health Survey (SF‐36), the Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual aspects of Quality of Life‐direct weighting (SEIQoL‐DW) allows patients to name the areas of life, which are important to them. Design In a semi‐structured interview style, 71 patients following liver transplant were asked to complete the SEIQoL‐DW and the SF‐36 in a cross‐sectional design. Results We found five quality of life areas that were chosen by more than half of the patients: family, friends, sports, partnership and profession/occupation. Health was only mentioned by 45% of all patients. Individual quality of life did not differ from healthy population. In the SF‐36, patients showed normal mental health parameters but reduced physical components. A strong correlation between SEIQoL‐DW‐Index and the mental component summary of the SF‐36 was observed. Conclusion In addition to the widely used standardized SF‐36, the individual measure SEIQoL‐DW shows new aspects concerning the areas of quality of life, which are personally important to the participants. Less than half of our patients mentioned health and the five most nominated areas are not related to health. By focusing on health, the importance of health‐related factors is overrated, and the impact of non‐medical effects is underrepresented.