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The goal of all medical treatments is a better quality of life for patients. Post-stroke rehabilitation is a long process with uncertain result. The aim of this study was to explore the factors which affect the quality of life of patients recovering from a cerebrovascular disease. This is a prospective study evaluating the quality of life of one hundred patients one month and six months after a stroke, and patients also answered questions retrospectively, of how they felt before the stroke. As assessment tools we used a questionnaire on general and clinical data and Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36) questionnaire. Physical functioning and Physical role domains of SF-36 show significant differences in both measured periods (p<0.001). Emotional role, Social functioning, Mental health, Vitality and General health domains show a statistically significant change during first six months, while Bodily pain domain did not change (p>0.05). Physical summary score has changed significantly during 6 months (p <0.001). Mental summary score showed no significant difference in both periods (p <0.687; p <0.958). The brain localization is important factor (p<0.0002). Gender, age, education, employment status and previous strokes did not have a statistically significant influence (p> 0.05). Post-stroke physical impairment is not always accompanied by emotional impairment. Emotional functioning impairments generally return to the premorbid level during the period of six months, while physical impairments continue to occur. Further research is needed for better understanding of these relationships.

Introduction: The number of COVID-19 survivors in Bogor City until 2021 is 98.52%. COVID-19 survivors often experience a reduction in quality of life and impacts such as symptoms for a long period of time, fatigue, headaches, shortness of breath, impaired physical function, and others that affect quality of life. Aim: Analyze the quality of life of COVID-19 survivors in Bogor City. Method: A cross-sectional design with a population of all Bogor City residents who have declared cured depending on data from the Bogor City Health Office in 2021 with a sample is the majority of COVID-19 survivors in the Bogor City residents who have been certified cured of COVID-19 as demonstrated by the positive screening findings for COVID-19 and have the inclusion criteria. Age, gender, educational status, marital status, employment status, income, vaccination status, alcohol drinking habit, smoking habit, comorbidity, obesity, COVID-19 symptoms experienced, duration of COVID-19 recovery, and hospitalization were independent variables, and data collection was done with an online questionnaire application within 2 (two) months using the 36-Item Short Form Survey Instrument (SF-36) to measure quality of life. Result: The quality of life of COVID-19 in Bogor City is classified as good. The variables of educational status, income, comorbidities, obesity, COVID-19 symptoms experienced, and duration of COVID-19 recovery show that these variables have a greater risk of experiencing poor quality of life. Conclusion: Educational status, income, comorbidities, obesity, COVID-19 symptoms experienced, and the duration of COVID-19 recovery have a significant relationship with quality of life.

Precise estimation of life quality is of special importance in patients with chronic diseases, such as arterial hypertension. There are many questionnaires for that purpose. Short-form 36 (SF-36) with 8 domains has been proved as one of the most appropriate. To date, there was no translated and validated SF 36 in Serbian language for hypertensive patients. The aim of this study was to test validity and reliability of SF-36 in Serbian patients with diagnosed arterial hypertension. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated to assess the internal consistency of the Serbian version of the SF-36. After deducting the overlap between each of the 36 items and its related domain, the collective validity was considered to be good if the correlation coefficient remains > 0.4. Only 2.54% answers on the questions were missing. Values of all the 8 domains were higher in men than in women. Cronbach alpha coefficient was high for SF-36, 0.897, and it suggesting that the SF-36 had good internal reliability. All 8 domains showed high values non-rotating factorial weights (>0.300) (range from 0.742-0.856), and all measure the same thing. It means that all components in this questionnaire measure the things they are assigned to.

Background Many studies have compared quality of life of post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) patients with age-matched population-based controls. Many studies on PICS used the 36-item Short Form (SF-36) health survey questionnaire version 2, but lack the data for SF-36 values before and after intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Thus, clinically important changes in the parameters of SF-36 are unknown. Therefore, we determined the frequency of co-occurrence of PICS impairments at 6 months after ICU admission. We also evaluated the changes in SF-36 subscales and interpreted the patients’ subjective significance of impairment. Methods A prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study was conducted in 16 ICUs across 14 hospitals in Japan. Adult ICU patients expected to receive mechanical ventilation for > 48 h were enrolled, and their 6-month outcome was assessed using the questionnaires. PICS definition was based on the physical status, indicated by the change in SF-36 physical component score (PCS) ≥ 10 points; mental status, indicated by the change in SF-36 mental component score (MCS) ≥ 10 points; and cognitive function, indicated by the worsening of Short-Memory Questionnaire (SMQ) score and SMQ score at 6 months < 40. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify the factors associated with PICS occurrence. The patients’ subjective significance of physical and mental symptoms was assessed using the 7-scale Global Assessment Rating to evaluate minimal clinically important difference (MCID). Results Among 192 patients, 48 (25%) died at 6 months. Among the survivors at 6 months, 96 patients responded to the questionnaire; ≥ 1 PICS impairment occurred in 61 (63.5%) patients, and ≥ 2 occurred in 17 (17.8%) patients. Physical, mental, and cognitive impairments occurred in 32.3%, 14.6% and 37.5% patients, respectively. Population with only mandatory education was associated with PICS occurrence (odds ratio: 4.0, 95% CI 1.1–18.8, P  = 0.029). The MCID of PCS and MCS scores was 6.5 and 8.0, respectively. Conclusions Among the survivors who received mechanical ventilation, 64% had PICS at 6 months; co-occurrence of PICS impairments occurred in 20%. PICS was associated with population with only mandatory education. Future studies elucidating the MCID of SF-36 scores among ICU patients and standardizing the PICS definition are required. Trial registration UMIN000034072.

Purpose Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures originally developed for paper administration are increasingly being administered electronically in clinical trials and other health research studies. Three published meta-analyses of measurement equivalence among paper and electronic modes aggregated findings across hundreds of PROs, but there has not been a similar meta-analysis that addresses a single PRO, partly because there are not enough published measurement equivalence studies using the same PRO. Because the SF-36(R) Health Survey (SF-36) is a widely used PRO, the aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of measurement equivalence studies of this survey. Methods A literature search of several medical databases used search terms for variations of \"SF-36\" or \"SF-12\" and \"equivalence\" in the title or abstract of English language publications. The eight scale scores and two summary measures of the SF-36 and SF-12 were transformed to norm-based scores (NBS) using developer guidelines. A threshold of within ± 2 NBS points was set as the margin of equivalence. Comprehensive meta-analysis software was used. Results Twenty-five studies were included in the meta-analysis. Results indicated that mean differences across domains and summary scores ranged from 0.01 to 0.39 while estimates of agreement ranged from 0.76 to 0.91, all well within the equivalence threshold. Moderator analyses showed that time between administration, survey language, and type of electronic device did not influence equivalence. Conclusions The results of the meta-analysis support equivalence of paper-based and electronic versions of the SF-36 and SF-12 across a variety of disease populations, countries, and electronic modes.

Purpose Medical and health policy providers should be aware of the impact of adult spinal deformity (ASD) on health-related quality of life (HRQL). The purpose of this study was to compare the relative burden of four chronic conditions with that of ASD. Methods The International Quality of Life Assessment project gathered data from 24,936 people and published the SF-36 scores of patients with self-reported arthritis, chronic lung disease, diabetes and congestive heart failure from 8 industrialized countries (3 continents) Alonso et al. (Qual Life Res Int J Qual Life Asp Treat Care Rehabil 13:283–298, 2004 ). We compared these with the SF-36 baseline data of consecutive patients with ASD enrolled in a prospective multicentre international database with the following inclusion criteria: age >18 years and scoliosis >20°, sagittal vertical axis >5 cm, pelvic tilt >25° or thoracic kyphosis >60°. Four ASD groups were considered: all ASD patients, surgical candidates (preop HRQL scores), and non-surgical candidates with and without previous surgery. Adjusted estimates of the impact of chronic disease were calculated using separate multivariate linear regression models. Individuals without chronic conditions were used as the reference group. Coefficients for each chronic condition and ASD represent the difference compared with this healthy group. Results 766 patients (mean age 45.8 years) met the inclusion criteria for ASD. The scores on all SF-36 domains were lower in ASD patients than in any other chronic condition. Differences between ASD and the other chronic conditions were always greater than the reported minimal clinically important differences. When compared with individuals reporting no medical conditions, SF-36 scores from the population with self-reported chronic conditions ranged from −2.5 to −14.1. Comparable scores for patients with ASD ranged from −10.9 to −45.0. Physical function, role physical and pain domains showed the worst scores. Surgical candidates with ASD displayed the worst HRQL scores (−17.4 to −45.0) and patients previously operated the best (−10.9 to −33.3); however, even the latter remained worse than any scores for the other self-reported chronic conditions. Conclusions The global burden of ASD was huge compared with other self-reported chronic conditions in the general population of eight industrialized countries. The impact of ASD on HRQL warrants the same research and health policy attention as other important chronic diseases.

Quality of life is an important indicator of the treatment process, lifestyle, and influence of many other factors, both exogenous and endogenous, on the body. Determining the quality of life of healthy people (health-related quality of life (HRQoL), considering the influence of various factors, is important due to the possibility of making subsequent comparative analyses regarding the quality of life of people diagnosed with diseases. In addition, it allows us to identify the most crucial factors influencing the HRQoL in the process of “good aging”. The purpose of the study was to present the HRQoL level of healthy people over 65 years of age. HRQoL was measured in five-year age groups (66–70, 71–75, 76–80, >80 years), considering the analyzed factors. Finally, 1038 healthy people were included in the study. The inclusion criteria were as follows: no diagnosed chronic diseases, no permanent treatment in specialist clinics, and no constant administration of medicaments. A comparative analysis was carried out, assuming a 5% conclusion error. The SF-36 questionnaire assessing the main dimensions of the quality of life was the tool used in the study to assess the HRQoL: the physical component summary (PCS), mental component summary (MCS) and index of life quality (ILQ). The factors significantly differentiating the average level of HRQoL were as follows: gender, place of residence, education, employment status, smoking and physical activity. Relationship status (p > 0.05) was one of the analyzed factors that did not influence the differences in the average level of the perceived HRQoL. More than a twofold greater chance of a higher HRQoL was reported in the group of men under 75 years of age (66–70: OR = 2.01; 71–75: OR = 2.52) compared to the group of women. The same relationship was noted in the case of higher education in respondents up to the age of 80 (66–70: OR = 1.56; 71–75: OR = 2.16; 76–80: OR = 2.74). Smoking by people over 80 years of age significantly increased the chances of a higher HRQoL in each of the dimensions (PCS: OR = 4.09; MCS: OR = 12.64; ILQ: OR = 5.79). Age as a non-modifiable factor significantly differentiates the level of the HRQoL of healthy people over 65 years of age. The results of the conducted study on HRQoL can be helpful when comparing the HRQoL of healthy people with a group of people with chronic diseases.

Background: Most studies analyzing the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) after bariatric treatment ceased at five years post-surgery or even earlier, and it is unclear whether the HRQOL benefit persists for a longer time. This paper reviews sparse evidence regarding HRQOL in patients who underwent bariatric surgery at least nine years prior. Materials and Methods: A of PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar between 2007–2021 was carried out for the studies investigating HRQOL as an outcome measure in patients after bariatric surgery of any type and having at least a 9-year follow-up. Inconsistent reporting of weight loss or postgraduate study results unrelated to QoL were not included in the study. The study used the PICO procedure. Results: The review of 18 identified publications demonstrated that bariatric treatment seems to provide a persistent benefit in terms of HRQOL, especially its physical component score. Due to psychological predispositions, some patients appear to be less likely to benefit from bariatric treatment, whether in terms of HRQOL or bodyweight reduction. Inconsistent and imprecise studies may limit the evidence included in a review. Conclusions: The early identification of such patients and providing them with holistic care, including psychological intervention, would likely further improve the outcomes of bariatric treatment.

PurposeVertebral osteomyelitis (VO) has a high mortality and leads to chronic pain and functional disability. Surgical treatment is often necessary. To date, little is known about the consequences of surgery on patient outcome. The aim of this study was to determine the quality of life (QoL) and mortality rates of surgically treated VO patients for a period of 2 years.MethodsPatients with VO undergoing surgical treatment in a tertiary referral hospital from 2008 to 2015 were included prospectively. Data were collected before (T0) as well as 1 year (T1) and 2 years (T2) post-surgery. Within the European Spine Tango registry, prospective patient and QoL data were collected using validated outcome scores: Oswestry Disability Index, Short Form 36/EuroQol, Visual Analog Scale, and Core Outcome Measures Index.ResultsFrom 195 patients surgically treated for VO, QoL data were available from 136 patients at T0, 100 patients at T1, and 82 patients at T2, respectively. The 1- and 2-year mortality rates were 20% and 23%. Mainly all QoL outcome scores showed significant improvement at T1 and did not change significantly from T1 to T2.ConclusionSurgical treatment of VO patients leads to significantly improved QoL. Nevertheless, QoL levels were below those of the general population. Our results underscore that spine disability questionnaires measuring QoL are mandatory to demonstrate comprehensively the severity of this entity. Our study confirms a high mortality and points out the role of VO as a potentially life-threatening condition.

Purpose The main purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the impact of beta-thalassemia major (BTM) on the health-related quality of life as assessed by the medical outcomes short-form-36 questionnaire (SF-36). Methods A systematic literature search was performed on Cochrane library, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, ProQues, Medline/PubMed, Scholar Google until March 17, 2017 to obtain eligible studies. A fixed effect model was applied to summarize the scores of each domain. The radar chart was used to compare the scores of BTM patients with other health conditions. Spearman’s correlation analysis and meta-regression were used to explore the related factors. Results 26 studies were included in this study, which were all reliable to summarize the scores of the SF36. Pooled mean scores of the physical health domains ranged from 52.74 to 74.5, with the GH and PF domains being the lowest and the highest, respectively. Further, the pooled mean scores of the mental health domains varied between 59.6 and 71.11, with the (MH-VT) and SF domains being the maximum and the minimum, respectively. Patients with BTM had a substantially compromised HRQoL in comparison with the general population. Conclusion BTM could adversely affect the HRQoL of patients. Measuring HRQoL should be considered as an essential part of the overall assessment of health status of BTM patients, which would provide valuable clues for improving the management of disease and making decisions on the treatment.