Quality of life in patients with narcolepsy: a WHOQOL-bref study.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the perception of Quality of Life (QL) in Brazilian patients with narcolepsy.


METHODS
40 adult patients aged between 20 and 72 years (mean=41.55; SD=14.50); (28 F; 12M), with the diagnosis of chronic narcolepsy were followed up at the outpatient clinic (Patient Group). The Control Group was composed of 40 adults. The instrument utilized was the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF).


RESULTS
The two groups were homogeneous and no difference was found with regards to age, sex, and demographic characteristics. The perception of QL in physical, psychological and social domains showed lower scores in those patients with narcolepsy than in the control group (p<0.05). Concerning physical domain, all the aspects evaluated were significantly impaired, in patient group, including sleep satisfaction (p<0.001); energy for daily activities (p=0.039); capacity to perform activities (p=0.001); and capacity to work (p=0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The perception of QL showed severe impairment in patients with narcolepsy for physical, psychological and social domains.
Division of Clinical Neurology, Hospital das Clinicas, Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Heloísa
H
Rovere
Sueli
S
Rossini
Rubens
R
Reimão
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009290:Narcolepsy / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires