title: Quality of life among veterans with war-related unilateral lower extremity amputation: a long-term survey in a prosthesis center in Iran.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the factors that have an adverse effect on the long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of veterans who have lost their extremities on the battlefield.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary prosthesis center.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred forty-one male Iranian veterans who have sustained unilateral lower extremity amputation during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) were evaluated after an average of 21.6 years (range, 20-27 years) after amputation.
  
  
  METHODS
  No intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  Physical and mental HRQOL according to the Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey. A cutoff point to define poor versus good HRQOL was calculated using the first quartile of SF-36 physical and mental component scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Poor physical HRQOL was positively associated with transfemoral amputation, phantom movement, low back pain, and a lower Barthel Index [odds ratios (ORs): 4.1, 7.8, 9.1, and 0.9, respectively). Poor mental HRQOL was associated with education level lower than high school diploma and the articular pain of the sound leg (OR = 2.9 and 6.5, respectively). Being employed or receiving disability was a factor that had a lower OR to associate with poor mental HRQOL (OR = 0.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Alleviation of complaints such as low back pain and articular pain of the sound leg through appropriate medical management, granting facilities for continuing education, and employment are issues that should be considered by authorities and rehabilitative centers to increase HRQOL in amputee veterans.
authors.affiliation: Trauma Research Center, Baqiyatallah Medical Sciences University, Tehran 1435915371, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamidreza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Taghipour
authors.forename: Yashar
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moharamzad
authors.forename: Ahmad R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Mafi
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amini
authors.forename: Mohammad Mehdi
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Naghizadeh
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Soroush
authors.forename: Abed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Namavari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000671:Amputation, Surgical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000674:Amputees / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult