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Quality of life and associated factors in patients with chronic Chagas disease
Author(s) -
SantosFilho João C. L.,
Vieira Marcelo C.,
Xavier Isis G. G.,
Maciel Erica R.,
Rodrigues Junior Luiz F.,
Curvo Eduardo O. V.,
Pereira Iane M.,
Quintana Marcel S. B.,
Sperandio da Silva Gilberto M.,
Veloso Henrique H.,
Mendes Fernanda S. N. S.,
HasslocherMoreno Alejandro M.,
Sousa Andrea S.,
Brasil Pedro E. A. A.,
Saraiva Roberto M.,
Mediano Mauro F. F.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/tmi.13144
Subject(s) - medicine , socioeconomic status , quality of life (healthcare) , observational study , multivariate analysis , population , gerontology , disease , cross sectional study , demography , environmental health , pathology , nursing , sociology
Objectives To evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of patients with Chagas disease ( CD ) and the association between QoL domains and several clinical, socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics of this population. Methods Cross‐sectional observational study conducted from March 2014 to March 2017 including a total of 361 outpatients followed at Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Disease, Brazil. QoL was assessed using the Portuguese shorter version of the original WHO Quality of Life questionnaire ( WHOQOL ‐ BREF ). Information about clinical CD presentation, presence of comorbidities, functional class, previous benznidazole treatment, socioeconomic profile and lifestyle was also obtained. Results Environment and physical domains presented the worst QoL scores, while the social relationship domain presented the highest score. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that variables independently associated with QoL were functional class, sex, clinical presentation of CD , sleep duration, schooling, physical activity level, smoking, income per capita and residents by domicile. Conclusions The low socioeconomic status and the physical limitations imposed by the disease presented an important impact on the QoL reduction among CD patients, especially on environment and physical domains. Strategies to improve QoL among CD patients should be tailored and consider many different variables to maximise improvements not only of patients' physical but also of their mental health.