title: Quality of life of patients with hepatitis C.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Self-report on the quality of life (QOL) is increasingly studied in the evaluation of various diseases, especially in chronic ones. However, there are few data in the literature focusing the QOL of patients living with chronic hepatitis C. The objective of this study was to evaluate the QOL in patients with hepatitis C assessed by the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment (WHOQOL)-bref scale.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and eight hepatitis C patients attending the Outpatient Healthcare Medical Specialties in Tubarão, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil, were contacted from May 2010 to February 2011. Patients answered the WHOQOL-bref scale and a questionnaire about their treatment and risk factors to hepatitis C virus (VHC) infection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although most of patients with chronic hepatitis C considered their QoL good or very good (58.1%), 47 (44.8%) patients were poorly or very poorly satisfied with their health. About the WHOQOL answers, the environment domain had the highest score (25.15 + 5.77), while the lowest score was the social relationships domain (9.19 + 2.5). There was statistically significant association between household income and quality of life in all domains (p<0.001) and statistically significant association between education and the physical, psychological and social domains of quality of life (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on the answers given in WHOQOL-bref, patients with chronic hepatitis C have a generally poor QOL, especially in social relationship domain. Household income and educational level were factors that interfered significantly with patients' QOL assessment.
authors.affiliation: Curso de Graduação em Medicina, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Tubarão, SC.
authors.forename: Grazielle Arruda
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.forename: Maria Zélia
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Baldessar
authors.forename: Gregório Wrublevski
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Valdete Meurer
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Kuehlkamp
authors.forename: Clarissa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hilzendeger
authors.forename: Jane da
authors.initials: Jd
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014944:World Health Organization