Quality of Life Measurements in Epilepsy

ABSTRACT:In the treatment of the patient with epilepsy not only seizure control but quality of life issues are important aspects of management. Aspects that have an impact on the quality of life include seizure frequency and severity, social functioning, psychological well-being, disease specific measures, and general health status.

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Effects of Panax Ginseng on Quality of Life

Annals of Pharmacotherapy ◽

10.1345/aph.1a245 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 375-379 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Jennifer M Ellis ◽

Prabashni Reddy

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Mental Health ◽

Health Status ◽

Social Functioning ◽

Panax Ginseng ◽

General Health ◽

Analysis Of Covariance ◽

General Health Status ◽

Health Status Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE: To assess the time-dependent effects of Panax ginseng on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) by use of a general health status questionnaire. METHODS: Subjects were randomized in a double-blind manner to P. ginseng 200 mg/d (n = 15) or placebo (n = 15) for 8 weeks. The Short Form-36 Health Survey version 2 (SF-36v2), a validated general health status questionnaire, was used to assess HRQOL at baseline and at 4 and 8 weeks. HRQOL between the groups was compared by use of repeated-measures analysis of covariance. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in baseline demographics and SF-36v2 scores between the groups. After 4 weeks of therapy, higher scores in social functioning ( P. ginseng 54.9 ± 4.6 vs. placebo 49.2 ± 6.5; p = 0.014), mental health ( P. ginseng 52.2 ± 7.7 vs. placebo 47.2 ± 7.3; p = 0.075), and the mental component summary ( P. ginseng 51.3 ± 7.4 vs. placebo 44.3 ± 8.3; p = 0.019) scales were observed in patients randomized to P. ginseng; these differences did not persist to the 8-week time point. The incidence of adverse effects was 33% in the P. ginseng group compared with 17% in the placebo group (p = 0.40). Subjects given P. ginseng (58%) were more likely to state that they received active therapy than subjects given placebo (17%; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: P. ginseng improves aspects of mental health and social functioning after 4 weeks of therapy, although these differences attenuate with continued use.

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Oral Health and Psychosocial Predictors of Quality of Life and General Well-Being among Adolescents in Lesotho, Southern Africa

Children ◽

10.3390/children8070582 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 582

Author(s):

Abbas Jessani ◽

Jonghm Choi ◽

Abdul El-Rabbany ◽

Pulane Lefoka ◽

Mir Faeq Ali Quadri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Public Schools ◽

Oral Health ◽

General Health ◽

Well Being ◽

General Health Status ◽

Social Wellbeing ◽

Fair Poor ◽

Dental Conditions

Background: Adolescents’ quality of life is reported to be significantly associated with physical and social wellbeing. Although adolescents are 30% of the Southern African population, no previous studies have focused on this group in relation to oral health and quality of life. Methods: A 40-item survey and clinical oral examinations were conducted in public schools in Maseru from 10 to 25 August 2016. Simple, bivariate, and multivariate regressions were used to evaluate the associations of oral health and psychosocial factors with self-reported general health status and quality of life. Results: A total of 526 participants, aged 12–19 years old, responded to the survey and participated in the clinical examinations. The majority reported a good (good/very good/excellent) quality of life (84%) and general health (81%). Bivariate results showed that self-reported general health in this population was significantly influenced by age. The presence of toothache and sensitivity in the adolescents were significantly associated with poor (fair/poor) self-reported general health and were found to be the best predictors for self-general health and quality of life. Conclusions: The absence of dental conditions such as toothache and tooth sensitivity can lead to a better perception of general health and Quality of Life in adolescents.

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COVID-19 and Quality of Life: Twelve Reflections

Applied Research in Quality of Life ◽

10.1007/s11482-020-09898-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel T. L. Shek

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Digital Divide ◽

Well Being ◽

Sudden Onset ◽

Economic Disadvantage ◽

Conflict Prevention ◽

Collective Rights ◽

The World ◽

Life Issues

AbstractCOVID-19 has severely affected the world since December 2020. Because of its sudden onset and highly contagious nature, the world has responded in a “crisis management” manner. With effective vaccines almost available, it is appropriate at this time to have some reflections about COVID-19 in relation to the quality of life issues. In this paper, we highlight twelve issues for reflection, which can help us better prepared for future pandemics. These include: digital divide, health inequality, gender inequality, economic disadvantage, family well-being, impact on holistic well-being, economic development versus saving lives, consumption versus environmental protection, individual rights versus collective rights, international collaboration versus conflict, prevention of negative well-being, and promotion of positive well-being.

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Quality of life along the diabetes continuum: a cross-sectional view of health-related quality of life and general health status in middle-aged and older Finns

Quality of Life Research ◽

10.1007/s11136-014-0638-3 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 23 (7) ◽

pp. 1935-1944 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Saku Väätäinen ◽

Sirkka Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi ◽

Jouko Saramies ◽

Hannu Uusitalo ◽

Jaakko Tuomilehto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Health Status ◽

General Health ◽

Health Related Quality ◽

General Health Status ◽

Middle Aged ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related

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O-168 Chronic pelvic pain is the most troublesome endometriosis pain symptom for women’s quality of life

Human Reproduction ◽

10.1093/humrep/deab127.036 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

P Pijpops ◽

S Apers ◽

C Meuleman ◽

C Tomassetti ◽

E Dancet

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Health Status ◽

Pelvic Pain ◽

General Health ◽

Chronic Pelvic Pain ◽

Pain Symptom ◽

General Health Status ◽

Pain Symptoms ◽

Specific Health

Abstract Study question Which pre-operative endometriosis pain symptom is most troublesome for the quality-of-life of women assessed at different meta-levels? Summary answer Of five pain symptoms chronic pelvic pain is most troublesome or has the strongest correlation to women’s overall quality-of-life and overall and endometriosis-specific health status. What is known already Endometriosis affects women’s quality of life negatively, and its impact seems to depend more on women’s symptoms than on their degree of endometriosis. Experts proposed to include ‘the most troublesome symptom’ and ‘overall pain’ as core outcomes but did not define how to assess these outcomes. It would be interesting to find out which pain symptom (i.e. assessed for presence and intensity) has most impact on women’s quality-of-life assessed at different meta-levels, including: overall quality-of-life (depending on amongst others one’s professional and relational life besides health), general health status and endometriosis-specific health status. Study design, size, duration A prospective survey addressed 277 adult women scheduled for diagnostic and/or therapeutic surgery in a University endometriosis clinic between October 2016 and November 2019. Women were reminded twice of our request to fill out the coded but anonymous questionnaire package assessing five pain symptoms (i.e. chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, dysuria and dyschezia) and assessing quality-of-life at three different meta-levels. Participants/materials, setting, methods Women scored five endometriosis symptoms between 0 (no pain) and 10 (worst imaginable pain), combined into ‘overall pain’ (0-50). ‘Overall quality-of-life’ was assessed with the Linear Analogue Scale (LAS; the higher, the better). General and endometriosis-specific health status were assessed with the overall scores of the EuroQol-5D and the Endometriosis-Health-Profile-30 (the higher, the better). Pearson correlation coefficients between the six pain scores and three measures of quality-of-life were computed (p = 0.003; 0.05/18 as Bonferroni correction). Main results and the role of chance A total of 227 women took part (participation rate=82%) and the data of 202 women (mean age 31±5 years old) with surgically confirmed endometriosis were analysed. In the previous six months, the majority of women reported chronic pelvic pain (56%), dyspareunia (55%), dysmenorrhea (56%) and/or dyschezia (58.4%), while only some reported dysuria (25%). Women’s mean overall pain score was 20 (±12). Women’s mean overall quality-of-life was 65 (±16). On average women rated their general health status to be 62 (±18) and their mean endometriosis-specific health status was 53 (±18). Only the pain symptom chronic pelvic pain was correlated (p < 0.001) to assessments of quality-of-Life at all three meta-levels. The correlation for endometriosis-specific health status was large (r= -0.574), while the others were medium (r= -0.343 & r= -0.324). After taking account of the Bonferroni correction for multiple testing the remaining four pain symptoms only had a medium correlation (p < 0.001) to endometriosis-specific health status (r= -0.356 – -0.265; p < 0.001) and they were not correlated to overall quality-of-Life or general health status. Overall pain had a medium correlation (p < 0.001) to Overall quality-of-Life (r= -0.270) and general health status (r= -0.259) and a strong correlation (p < 0.001) to endometriosis-specific health status (r= -0.529). Limitations, reasons for caution The majority of patients (60%) of the recruiting University endometriosis clinic had severe endometriosis (AFS-IV) and this study could be repeated in another setting. Directly asking women which pain symptom is most troublesome to them would be interesting besides exploring correlations between pain symptoms and quality of life. Wider implications of the findings Nurses, midwives and other health care professionals should devote attention to chronic pelvic pain during the anamnesis and women-centred care as this pain symptom is most troublesome for women’s quality of life. Whether surgery decreases chronic pelvic pain and overall pain is currently followed-up in the studied prospective cohort. Trial registration number Not applicable

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Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis in Oman – A CrossSectional Study

Oman Medical Journal ◽

10.5001/omj.2021.109 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jansirani Natarajan ◽

Mickael Antoine Joseph ◽

Abdullah Al Asmi ◽

Gerald Amandu Matua ◽

Jaber Al Khabouri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Disease Process ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Related Quality ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related ◽

The Impact ◽

Disease Specific

Objectives: Multiple sclerosis is a disabling neurological disorder with significant negative effects on patients’ quality of life. Despite the increased prevalence of multiple sclerosis in Arabian Gulf countries in recent years, no study has assessed the impact of multiple sclerosis on the healthrelated quality of life of Omani patients. Therefore, the objectives of the current study was to assess the impact of multiple sclerosis on the health-related quality of life of Omani patients using the validated disease-specific self-administered MusiQoL instrument. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out between April and December 2019 on 177 Omani patients with multiple sclerosis attending two major hospitals in Oman. Patients’ health-related quality of life was assessed using the validated disease-specific self-administered MusiQoL instrument. Results: Majority (51.4%) of the patients had poor HRQOL and 48.6% had moderate HRQOL. We found that being older than 30 years, a female, married, separated, widowed, or divorced, and having visual and sleep problems had poorer health-related quality of life. Among the different health-related quality of life components, relationship with the healthcare system and relationship with family and friends were the most affected because of the disease process. Our results also showed that psychological well-being and coping domains of MusiQoL questionnaires are significantly reduced in females as compared to males. Conclusion: Understanding the health-related quality of life of Omanis with multiple sclerosis provides valuable knowledge that could help optimize the management of this disease.

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Validation of a simple disease-specific, quality-of-life measure for diabetic polyneuropathy

Neurology ◽

10.1212/wnl.0000000000005643 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 90 (23) ◽

pp. e2034-e2041 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kelly G. Gwathmey ◽

Reza Sadjadi ◽

William B. Horton ◽

Mark R. Conaway ◽

Carolina Barnett-Tapia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Diabetic Polyneuropathy ◽

Well Being ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Sensorimotor Polyneuropathy ◽

Patient Reported ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related ◽

Disease Specific

ObjectiveWe studied the performance of a 15-item, health-related quality-of-life polyneuropathy scale in the clinic setting in patients with diabetic distal sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN).MethodsPatients with DSPN from 11 academic sites completed a total of 231 Chronic Acquired Polyneuropathy Patient-Reported Index (CAPPRI) scales during their clinic visits. Conventional and modern psychometric analyses were performed on the completed forms.ResultsConventional and modern analyses generally indicated excellent psychometric properties of the CAPPRI in patients with DSPN. For example, the CAPPRI demonstrated unidimensionality and performed like an interval-level scale.ConclusionAttributes of the CAPPRI for DSPN include ease of use and interpretation; unidimensionality, allowing scores to be summed; adequate coverage of disease severity; and the scale's ability to address relevant life domains. Furthermore, the CAPPRI is free and in the public domain. The CAPPRI may assist the clinician and patient with DSPN in estimating disease-specific quality of life, especially in terms of pain, sleep, psychological well-being, and everyday function. The CAPPRI may be most useful in the everyday clinical setting but merits further study in this setting, as well as the clinical trial setting.

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A Systematic Literature Review and Head-to-Head Comparison of Social Support and Social Constraint in Relation to the Psychological Functioning of Cancer Survivors

Annals of Behavioral Medicine ◽

10.1093/abm/kaz037 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 54 (3) ◽

pp. 176-192 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jessica N Rivera Rivera ◽

Jessica L Burris

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Social Support ◽

Literature Review ◽

Cancer Survivors ◽

Social Functioning ◽

Psychological Functioning ◽

Well Being ◽

Social Constraint ◽

Multidimensional Concept

Abstract Background Quality of life is a multidimensional concept that includes perceptions of one’s physical, psychological, social, and spiritual functioning, all of which are theorized to be interdependent. The focus of this study is social functioning, which itself is a multidimensional concept that includes social support and social constraint among other things. In cancer survivors, social support receives most of the research attention, but social constraint may have a stronger influence on quality of life. Purpose This systematic literature review evaluates which aspect of social functioning—social support or social constraint—has a stronger relationship with the psychological functioning of cancer survivors. Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed in the identification and review of 32 independent records. Multiple measures of social support and social constraint were used across studies, with most having adequate psychometric properties. Psychological outcomes were divided into (a) general distress, (b) cancer-specific distress, (c) general well-being, and (d) cancer-specific well-being. Results For general and cancer-specific distress, social constraint exhibited a larger association with distress than social support. Similarly, for general well-being, most studies reported a stronger association with social constraint than social support. For cancer-specific well-being, the opposite was true such that associations were stronger for social support than social constraint. Conclusions Results highlight the importance of considering social constraint when examining quality-of-life outcomes like psychological distress and well-being. Findings support social constraint as a target in interventions to reduce cancer survivors’ distress, while social support could be considered in attempts to promote cancer-specific well-being.

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Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus—Does Quality of Life Impairment Always Reflect Health Danger?

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm9082505 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 2505

Author(s):

Zenon Brzoza ◽

Katarzyna Nabrdalik ◽

Lukasz Moos ◽

Hanna Kwiendacz ◽

Karina Badura-Brzoza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Social Functioning ◽

Short Form ◽

Well Being ◽

Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria ◽

The Mean ◽

Being There

Background and aims: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) and diabetes mellitus type 1 (T1DM) may compromise the quality of life (QoL). We decided to compare the QoL of T1DM patients to those suffering from CSU. Materials and methods: Sixty-six patients with well-controlled T1DM (male 52%) in the mean age of (SD) 36.3 (11.09) years and 51 patients with CSU (male 33%) in the mean age of (SD) 35.8 (8.53) years were enrolled in this observational study. All the participants completed a Short-Form 36 (SF-36) QoL. Results: The QoL related to social functioning was significantly worse among CSU patients. There were differences related to gender found in the group of patients with T1DM—where men tended to declare a better quality of life than women (p = 0.015)—especially in the area of energy/fatigue and pain. It appeared that due to physical and emotional problems occurring in married patients, the QoL is lower in T1DM group in comparison to the CSU one. Conclusions: The patients with CSU presented significantly worse social functioning compared to the ones with T1DM. This fact proves the QoL impairment level is not always related to the level of health danger. The differences in the QoL related to gender and marital status found among T1DM patients point to the necessity for further exploration in a larger group of patients. Due to the fact that optimal disease management should ensure patient’s good emotional well-being, there is a need for additional psychological and social care for patients from those two groups.

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