title: Health-related quality of life in patients with Chagas disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chagas disease (ChD) is a chronic illness related to significant morbidity and mortality that can affect the quality of life (QoL) of infected patients. However, there are few studies regarding QoL in ChD. The objectives of this study are to construct a health-related QoL (HRQoL) profile of ChD patients and compare this with a non-ChD (NChD) group to identify factors associated with the worst HRQoL scores in ChD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  HRQoL was investigated in 125 patients with ChD and 21 NChD individuals using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form (SF-36) and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLWHFQ). Patients were submitted to a standard protocol that included clinical examination, ECG, Holter monitoring, Doppler echocardiogram and autonomic function tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HRQoL scores were significantly worse among the ChD group compared to the NChD group in the SF-36 domains of physical functioning and role-emotional and in the MLWHFQ scale. For the ChD group, univariate analysis showed that HRQoL score quartiles were associated with level of education, sex, marital status, use of medication, functional classification and cardiovascular and gastrointestinal symptoms. In the multivariate analysis, female sex, fewer years of education, single status, worst functional classification, presence of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal symptoms, associated illnesses, Doppler echocardiographic abnormalities and ventricular arrhythmia detected during Holter monitoring were predictors of lower HRQoL scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ChD patients showed worse HRQoL scores compared to NChD. For the ChD group, sociodemographic and clinical variables were associated with worst scores.
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil. brunago@hc.ufmg.br
authors.forename: Bruna Guimarães
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Mery Natali Silva
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Abreu
authors.forename: Claudia Drummond Guimarães
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Abreu
authors.forename: Manoel Otavio da Costa
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Antonio Luiz
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires