title: Importance of Quality of Life for Adherence to Sublingual Immunotherapy.
abstract: Background. Nonperception of efficacy ranks among the most commonly cited causes for nonadherence to sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). Quality of life (QoL) in patients is a determining factor influencing adherence. We investigated QoL and adherence separately in SLIT patients at one pediatric practice in Germany. Methods. We conducted a noninterventional, cross-sectional, retrospective, quality-of-life survey among pediatric patients treated with SLIT. QoL was assessed using the generic SF-12 health survey in German. The items contained in the SF-12 health survey are weighted, added up, and converted to obtain a physical component score (PCS) and a mental component score (MCS). Each component score ranges from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the better the QoL perceived. Results. 201 surveyed patients who had undergone SLIT showed PCS-12 of 49.3 (± 7.0) and MCS-12 of 52.6 (± 7.2). These figures correlate strongly with those reported for the German general population (n = 2453): PCS-12 of 49.6 (± 8.7) and MCS-12 of 52.3 (± 8.0). 70.2% (73) of 104 patients were adherent at this practice. Conclusions. QoL in the SLIT patients surveyed here appears as good as that of the general population. Adherence to SLIT at this practice was remarkably better than that reported elsewhere.
authors: Institute of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Epidemiology, University of Cologne, Lindenburger Allee 42, 50931 Cologne, Germany.
authors: Marie-Luise
authors: 0000-0003-0356-4787
authors: ML
authors: Lemberg
authors: Pediatric Practice for Pneumology/Allergology, Wilhelmshöher Allee 109, 34121 Kassel, Germany.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Eberle
authors: Institute of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Epidemiology, University of Cologne, Lindenburger Allee 42, 50931 Cologne, Germany.
authors: Kija
authors: 0000-0001-9616-6942
authors: K
authors: Shah-Hosseini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000080384:Allergoids; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007104:Immune Adherence Reaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D011788:Quality of Life; D063729:Sublingual Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000080384:Allergoids; D010936:Plant Extracts