Last update:
23-Jul-2008

OBJECTIVE To compare health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of moderate degree hepatitis B and hepatitis C patients, without cirrhosis, who had been treated with interferon (α-2b or α-2a) for at least twelve months. Moreover, to compare the HRQOL scores with the Greek general population norms, in order to determine the consequences of the disease and its therapy.

METHOD A consecutive sample of 300 patients were interviewed, during a routine visit to the Hepatology Department of the University Hospital of Larissa. The sample was equally split up into hepatitis B and C patients. The survey included the validated Greek version of the SF-36 generic health survey and sociodemographic and disease-related questions. Response rate was 97.8%.

RESULTS On all eight SF-36 scales, hepatitis B and C patients expectedly showed lower HRQOL than the general population. Noteworthy exceptions were observed in the physical functioning and bodily pain scales in which scores were comparable or even higher than the Greek norms. Contrarily, the HRQOL comparison between the two hepatitis groups did not show significant differences, except in the bodily pain and social functioning scales (P<0.05), both in favor of the hepatitis C group.

CONCLUSIONS Hepatitis B and C negatively affect most HRQOL domains, which appear significantly reduced, compared to the general population. Hepatitis C patients appear to be better since they reported significantly less pain and better social functioning than their hepatitis B counterparts, however further research is required to verify this finding. Given the epidemic proportions of prevalence, in Greece and worldwide, hepatitis must be dealt with as a public health concern and disease prevention and or management efforts intensified.

Key words: Hepatitis Β, Hepatitis C, Quality of life, SF-36.