# quality of life



## Guest (Sep 26, 2001)

Quality of Life Poor For Irritable Bowel PatientsPharmacoEconomics09/14/2001By Elda HauschildtQuality of life (QOL) is surprisingly poor for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), particularly for those who seek medical help. In fact, their QOL can be compared to that for conditions with high mortality, such as ischemic heart disease, heart failure and diabetes mellitus, British researchers say.Investigators from the University Hospital of South Manchester, England comment: "Pain severity appears to be an important factor in determining QOL in IBS, although bowel disturbance and psychological difficulties are also likely to be important." They point out that data available on the effect of IBS treatment on QOL is limited."Improvement has been reported with dietary modification, drug treatments and hypnotherapy."It is likely that in the future, QOL measures will become increasingly used as secondary end-points in therapeutic trials in IBS."Researchers say that QOL assessment is becoming increasingly important overall in evaluation of the impact of disease and the effects of therapy. "This is particularly true for IBS, in which there is often a tendency for a chronic clinical course, but with no associated mortality."They suggest that instruments used to measure QOL can be generic or disease specific. "Care needs to be taken to ensure that the instrument used has been adequately validated for the purpose intended," they add.Investigators note that there are several QOL instruments available for use in IBS, as well as generic ones. These include the IBS-QOL and the Functional Digestive Disorders QOL. PharmacoEconomics, 2001; 19: 643-653. E-Mail this DGReview to a colleague To print, use this version How relevant is this articleto your day to day practice? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not relevant Very relevant All contents Copyright © 1995-2001 Doctor's Guide Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.


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