title: Health-related quality of life in Portuguese patients with narcolepsy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the perception of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Portuguese patients with narcolepsy, and to compare the results to normative data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-one narcoleptic adults (26M, 25F), aged between 18 and 80 years (mean=43.35, SD=15.32), were included in the final analysis of a multicentric cross-sectional study. The Medical Outcome Study--36 Item Short-Form Survey (SF-36) was used to assess quality of life, and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used for self-assessment of depression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Several HRQoL domains were significantly lower than National surveys, except physical function and bodily pain (p between 0.000 and 0.006). SF-36 presented the lowest score in vitality (39.93). Deterioration was significantly higher in role physical (p=0.006), vitality (p=0.011), and mental health (p=0.008) in women, and in physical function (p=0.003) and bodily pain (p=0.045) in elderly subjects. Those with higher literacy had better physical function (p=0.046).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HRQoL is significantly deteriorated in narcoleptics, affecting all dimensions (except physical function and bodily pain) when compared with the general Portuguese population. The results are consistent with studies of narcolepsy in other countries in demonstrating the profound impact of this disorder on quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine/Neurology, Centro Hospitalar de Coimbra, EPE, Rua Machado de Castro, 105 - 4° Esq., 3000-254 Coimbra, Portugal. alcindadavid@gmail.com
authors.forename: Alcinda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: David
authors.forename: Fátima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Constantino
authors.forename: José Moutinho
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Paiva
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D009290:Narcolepsy / Q000523:psychology*; D011174:Portugal; D011788:Quality of Life; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000523:psychology; D012894:Sleep Stages; D055815:Young Adult