Introduction. Chronic hepatitis C reduces the quality of life in patients
causing fatigue, loss of self-confidence, reduced working capacity,
development of depression, emotional problems, and cognitive dysfunction.
Objective. The aim of the study was to identify the presence of depression in
patients with chronic hepatitis C, predicting factors for its expression, and
the impact of depression on the quality of life in these patients. Methods.
During the prospective study, we used the Hamilton depression scale to
investigate the presence of depression, generic 36-Item Short Form Health
Survey (SF-36) and Chronic Liver Diseases Questionnaire (CLDQ) to examine the
quality of life in 100 patients with chronic hepatitis C, 30 patients with
chronic hepatitis B, 30 patients with chronic liver disease non- viral
aetiology and 50 healthy persons. Results. A significantly higher presence of
depression, and cognitive dysfunction in patients with chronic hepatitis C
were noted as compared to the healthy individuals (p=0.00). In relation to
non-viral patients with chronic liver disease, depression was significantly
less present (p=0.004). Depression was rare in younger patients. The largest
number of patients with chronic hepatitis C was without depression. The
presence of depression caused deterioration of the physical and mental
components of the quality of life. Multivariate analysis showed that the most
significant positive predictive factor for the presence of depression was
married life (B=0.278; SE=0.094; p=0.004). Conclusion. The presence of
depression was more often in patients with chronic hepatitis C viral
infection compared to healthy population and was correlated with decline in
the quality of life. Depression is more pronounced in the elderly and
intravenous drug addicts. The lowest depression is expected in patients who
are not married.
Quality of life in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection: Severe comorbidities and disease perception matter more than liver-disease stage
