title: Assessing health-related quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, in Crete, Greece.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) is an important outcome measure in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The aim of our study was to assess HRQoL in a population of 135 Greek patients with IBD.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of 135 patients with IBD, 81 with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 54 with Crohn's disease (CD) were enrolled in our study. Demographic and disease-related data were recorded. HRQoL was assessed by a disease-specific and a generic questionnaire, IBDQ and SF-36, respectively. Disease activity was assessed by Harvey-Bradshaw Index and the Colitis Activity Index for CD and UC patients, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among all variables recorded in our study, only disease activity had a significant effect on HRQoL. Patients with active disease scored significantly lower on both IBDQ and SF-36 when compared to those in remission. Only two among the four IBDQ dimensions, bowel and systemic, had significant ability in distinguishing best patients in remission from those with active disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IBD has a negative impact on HRQoL. Patients with active disease are more impaired than patients in remission. In our population of patients bowel and systemic dimensions had a predominant value in patients' perception of quality of life. Patients in our study using the same instrument scored higher than previously reported.
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics Laboratory, Department of Social Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece. sebax@med.uoc.gr
authors.forename: Athanasios G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Pallis
authors.forename: Ioannis G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Vlachonikolis
authors.forename: Ioannis A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Mouzas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires