title: Disease-specific health-related quality of life and its determinants in liver cirrhosis patients in Lithuania.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate disease-specific quality of life (QOL) in liver cirrhosis patients and to compare it with those of a healthy population. Also an important objective was to assess whether QOL in liver cirrhosis patients differs by age and gender, by type and severity of disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  The case group of 131 liver cirrhosis patients was selected. The control group of 262 was enrolled from a healthy population according to the scheme of case-control study. Clinical, demographic, laboratory data were collected. QOL was measured with a specific chronic liver disease questionnaire (CLDQ), which was translated and validated in Lithuanian. QOL scores were compared between groups by age, gender, type and severity of disease. Cronbach's alpha statistics calculation was used for evaluation of internal consistency reliability. Student's t test or ANOVA were used for evaluation hypothesis about probability equation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  QOL was significantly lower in liver cirrhosis patients than in healthy population (59.5 +/- 18.3 vs 85.3 +/- 12.3, P < 0.001). The significant QOL differences between case and control groups were observed in domains of worry and abdominal symptoms, the smaller differences-in emotional functions and systematic symptom domains. Significantly worse QOL was in observed patients with increased clinical severity of the disease measured by Child-Pugh class. Age, gender and etiology of disease had an insignificant effect on QOL in cirrhotic patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  QOL was significantly impaired in all CLDQ domains in liver cirrhosis patients. Increase in severity of disease was the major factor associated with poorer QOL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Kaunas University of Medicine, A.Mickeviciaus street 9, Kaunas LT-44307, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sumskiene
authors.forename: Linas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sumskas
authors.forename: Dalius
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Petrauskas
authors.forename: Limas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kupcinskas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008097:Lithuania; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires