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Quality of life

About: Quality of life is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 42912 publications have been published within this topic receiving 1198363 citations. The topic is also known as: life quality.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Significant declines in the physical and mental health of older women in the 15 months after breast cancer surgery are observed, whereas scores on a cancer-specific psychosocial QOL measure improved over time, consistent with patterns in younger women.
Abstract: Purpose: We examined the health-related quality of life (QOL) of a cohort of older women with breast cancer after their diagnosis. Patients and Methods: Six hundred ninety-one women aged 65 years and older were interviewed approximately 3 months after breast cancer surgery and two additional times in the following year using standardized QOL measures. Demographic factors, breast cancer treatments, and comorbid conditions were used to model ratings of health-related QOL over time. Self-perceived health and psychosocial adjustment at 15 months after surgery were modeled. Results: Physical and mental health scores declined significantly in the follow-up year, independent of age. However, a cancer-specific psychosocial instrument showed significant improvement in scores. Better 3-month physical and mental health scores, as well as better emotional social support, predicted more favorable self-perceived health 15 months after surgery. Psychosocial adjustment at 15 months was significantly predicted by better m...

266 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Treatment of IBD‐associated anemia with iron may lead to improvement in patients' QOL, and increases in Hb improved QOL scores in IBD patients independent of change in disease activity.
Abstract: Background: Anemia commonly complicates inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In patients with chronic renal failure, the treatment of anemia with iron ± erythropoietin improves both quality of life (QOL) and cognitive function (CF). The same drugs are effective in treating severe anemia in IBD, but there is no evidence to direct the treatment of mild anemia. Concern exists that the use of iron may exacerbate inflammation in patients with IBD. The present study examined the association between changes in hemoglobin (Hb) in a population of IBD patients and changes in QOL and CF independent of change in disease activity (DA). Subsidiary aims were to assess whether the use of iron was associated with worsening DA. Methods: A cohort of 50 patients with IBD (29 Crohn's disease and 21 ulcerative colitis) took part. Iron replacement was given to 21 patients with low Hb. Measures of QOL, CF, DA, and Hb were recorded at baseline and at 6 months. Results: The iron-treated group had lower Hb and higher DA scores compared with the non-iron-treated group at baseline. In a hierarchical regression model, changes in DA accounted for 13% (P = 0.17) and changes in Hb accounted for 18% (P = 0.005) of the variance in change in SF-36 and 12% (P = 0.23) and 17% (P = 0.009) in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire. In this pilot study, although no associations were identified between changes in Hb or DA and CF, increases in Hb improved QOL scores in IBD patients independent of changes in DA. We found no similar effect with CF, but again, the sample size was small. We found no evidence that iron therapy causes worsening of DA. Conclusions: Treatment of IBD-associated anemia with iron may lead to improvement in patients' QOL.

266 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Parents' perceptions of QoL for children with FAP were lower than their children's self-reported scores, highlighting the clinical significance of FAP and providing insight into one facet of the disease's biopsychosocial etiology.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE. Children with chronic abdominal pain of nonorganic origin, termed functional abdominal pain (FAP), experience school absences and social withdrawal and report impaired physical ability. The aim of this study was to assess patients9 and parents9 perceptions of health-related quality of life (QoL) for children with FAP. METHODS. Between October 2002 and November 2003, 209 children (including 125 girls; age: 11.2 ± 3.5 years) and 209 parents were recruited from a pediatric referral center. At the time of their initial evaluations, participants completed a validated, health-related QoL instrument (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory), which was scored on a scale of 0 (poor) through 100 (best). Children with FAP (n = 65) and their families were compared with control groups of healthy children (n = 46) and children with histologically proven inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (n = 42) or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (n = 56). RESULTS. Children with FAP had self-reported QoL scores (score: 78) that were similar to those for children with GERD (score: 80) or IBD (score: 84). Children with FAP had lower QoL scores than did healthy children (score: 88). Parents of children with FAP reported lower QoL scores, compared with their children9s scores (scores: 70 vs 78). CONCLUSIONS. Children with FAP reported lower QoL, compared with their healthy peers, and had the same QoL scores as did children with IBD or GERD. Parents9 perceptions of QoL for children with FAP were lower than their children9s self-reported scores. These findings highlight the clinical significance of FAP and may provide insight into one facet of the disease9s biopsychosocial etiology.

265 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Although most men with prostate cancer seem to function quite well, a substantial minority report areas of unmet need that may be targets for improving care.
Abstract: While there are numerous uncertainties surrounding prostate cancer's detection and treatment, more research focusing on the psychological needs of prostate patients is required. This study investigated the support and psychological care needs of men with prostate cancer. Patients were approached during urological oncology clinics and asked to complete the: Support Care Needs Survey (SCNS), Support Care Preferences Questionnaire, EORTC QLQ-C30 (Version 3) Measure plus Prostate Module, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Of the 249 patients meeting study entry criteria, there was an 89% response rate resulting in a cohort of 210 patients. The data showed that significant unmet need exists across a number of domains in the areas of psychological and health system/information. The more commonly reported needs were 'fears about cancer spreading (44%),' 'concerns about the worries of those close to you (43%),' and 'changes in sexual feelings (41%).' Half of all patients reported some need in the domain of sexuality, especially men younger than 65 years. Needs were being well met in the domain of patient care and support. A significant number of patients reported having used or desiring support services, such as information about their illness, brochures about services and benefits for patients with cancer (55%), a series of talks by staff members about aspects of prostate cancer (44%), and one-on-one counselling (48%). Quality of life (QoL) was most negatively impacted in those who: were < or =65 years old, had been diagnosed within one year, or had metastatic disease. Men < or =65 had decreased social functioning, greater pain, increased sleep disturbance, and were more likely to be uncomfortable about being sexually intimate. Patients recently diagnosed had increased fatigue, more frequent urination, greater disturbance of sleep, and were more likely to have hot flushes. Those with advanced disease scored lower on 12 out of 15 QoL categories. PSA level had no effect on QoL or anxiety/depression scores. Men with advanced disease had greater levels of depression and those < or =65 years old were more likely to be anxious. Although most men with prostate cancer seem to function quite well, a substantial minority report areas of unmet need that may be targets for improving care.

265 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Quality of Life Index for Mental Health (QLI-MH) differs from existing instruments in that it is based on an easy to use, self-administered questionnaire that assesses nine separate domains that together encompass quality of life.
Abstract: The quality of life in persons with severe and persistent mental illness is often poor. Most treatment programmes have the goal of increasing quality of life. Unfortunately, existing methods to assess qualtiy of life are cumbersome and oriented towards research rather than clinical settings. This study describes preliminary steps in the development, testing and application of a new patient focused index for measuring quality of life in persons with severe mental illness. The Quality of Life Index for Mental Health (QLI-MH) differs from existing instruments in that it is based on an easy to use, self-administered questionnaire that assesses nine separate domains that together encompass quality of life. Each domain can be individually weighted depending on its relative importance to the patient. Different parts of the instrument solicit information from the patient, the primary clinician and, when available, the family. The instrument and its scoring system address limitations of previous approaches to quality of life measurement.

264 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202234
20213,682
20203,334
20192,964
20182,699
20172,902