title: Functional outcomes and health-related quality of life in fracture victims 27 months after the Sichuan earthquake.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate functional outcomes, health-related quality of life and life satisfaction in fracture victims 27 months after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 390 earthquake survivors from 3 earthquake areas who sustained fractures were divided into early intervention, late intervention and control groups. Functional outcomes assessed included activities of daily living using the Modified Barthel Index and pain level with a visual analogue scale. Health-related quality of life was evaluated with the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 and life satisfaction using the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Activities of daily living and life satisfaction in the intervention groups were significantly improved compared with the control group. Health-related quality of life was higher in early intervention subjects compared with controls. Group differences in pain level were not significant. In addition, the early and late intervention groups did not differ significantly in any of the measured outcomes. Good performance of activities of daily living and widowed marital status predicted high health-related quality of life, while pain level was associated with worsened outcomes. Rehabilitation therapy, remunerative employment and female gender were predictors of improved life satisfaction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Clinical effectiveness of physical rehabilitation intervention was demonstrated in fracture earthquake victims.
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiao-rong
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Jan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Reinhardt
authors.forename: Huai-jun
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Gosney
authors.forename: Shou-guo
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jianan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D055866:Earthquakes; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000150:complications / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000209:etiology; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires