title: [Evaluation of the quality of life of patients with irritable bowel syndrome].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore and assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients in the population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Random clustered sampling involving permanent inhabitants aged 18 - 80 yr was carried out under stratification of urban and suburban areas in Guangdong Province. Altogether 231 IBS patients fulfilling the Rome II criteria and 636 Non-IBS as control were collected. The impact of IBS on HRQOL was evaluated using the Chinese version of SF-36.
  
  
  RESULTS
  (1) There were no statistically significant differences between IBS and Non-IBS groups in aspects of sex, age educational level, and distribution according to areas (P > 0.05). (2) IBS patients reported significantly poorer HRQOL than controls (Non-IBS) on all SF-36 subscales (P < 0.05). The patients had poorer HRQOL than the Non-patients, but their differences weren't significant (P > 0.05). (3) The scores on all SF-36 subscales were highly associated with the frequency of abdominal pain in IBS patients (P < 0.05); They were also correlated to degree of effects of IBS symptoms on life reported by IBS patients (P < 0.05); The association between the scores and the symptom of fatigue which is the most extra-intestinal symptom in IBS was significant (P < 0.05); (4) Copying style was highly correlated to the eight SF-36 subscales; IBS still had a significant impact on patients after partialing out the effect of copying style.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IBS symptoms had a negative impact on HRQOL and the SF-36 could be adopted to detect the differences between IBS group and Non-IBS group, which may be used as an outcome measure in future treatment studies. However, the development of IBS-specific measures of quality of life is necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Li-shou
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Min-hu
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Wei-an
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hui-xin
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: An-gao
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Pin-jin
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires