title: Health-related quality of life in patients with chronic hepatitis B.
abstract: Although chronic hepatitis C (CH-C) has consistently been shown to impair patients' health-related quality of life (HRQL), the impact of chronic hepatitis B (CH-B) on HRQL has not been fully explored.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Compare HRQL between patients with CH-B, CH-C, primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three HRQL questionnaires [Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ), Short Form 36 (SF-36) and the Health Utility Index (HUI Mark-2 and Mark-3)] were administered prospectively. Additional clinical and laboratory data and normative data for healthy individuals, were available.
  
  
  METHODS
  Scores were compared using analysis of variance and multiple regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and forty-six patients with CH-B, CH-C and PBC were included [mean age 47.1 years (+/-11.6), 41% female, 33% cirrhosis]. CH-C and PBC patients scored the lowest on all CLDQ, SF-36 and HUI domains compared with CH-B patients and healthy controls. CH-B patients had scores similar to the healthy population, measured by most CLDQ and SF-36 scales. However, the HUI scores for CH-B patients showed more impairment than population norms. Having CH-B and not having cirrhosis were predictive of utility and HRQL scores in multivariate models.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CH-B patients have better HRQL than CH-C, PBC and population norms. CH-B patients' overall utility scores are lower than population norms.
authors.affiliation: Center for Liver Diseases, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Fairfax, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bondini
authors.forename: Jillian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kallman
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dan
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Younoszai
authors.forename: Lolita
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ramsey
authors.forename: Fatema
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nader
authors.forename: Zobair M
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Younossi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires