Effect of hepatitis C infection on the quality of life.

Objective: To assess the quality of life (QoL) of patients with hepatitis C infection (HCI) and its correlations with demographic and clinical variables.

Methods: QoL and depressive symptoms were evaluated with the validated rating instruments of the 36-item short form (SF-36) generic health survey and the second version of the self-rated Beck depression inventory (BDI-II) in a cross-sectional design and correlated with basic demographic and clinical variables, including the Fibroscan score, which indicates the severity of liver impairment.

Results: A cohort of 60 HCI patients who participated in the study scored lower than the general population on all domains of the SF-36. In the multivariate correlation analysis, only the physical functioning domain of the SF-36 showed a significant correlation with age, gender, and BD-II and Fibroscan scores.

Conclusions: QoL is lower for patients who are older, female, and have depressive symptoms. Progression of hepatic cirrhosis is associated with lower QoL in the physical domain.