Last update:
18-Nov-2020

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the health related quality of life (QoL) of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and the effect of demographic and clinical characteristics, with focus on the use of anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) as medical treatment.

METHOD The sample consisted of 110 patients with IBD, recruited from the public health system and the private sector. Data collection was conducted using the Greek versions of the general questionnaire EuroQοl 5 dimension scale (EQ-5D) and the disease-specific questionnaire Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ), and information on the age, gender and smoking habits of the participants, the type and chronicity of the disease, and the treatment was recorded. Statistical analysis, with dependent variable the QoL and independent variable the use of an anti-TNFα, was conducted with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 25.0, with the level of significance set at p≤0.05.

RESULTS Age, gender of respondents, chronicity of disease and smoking habits showed no correlation with the QoL scores. The type of IBD showed correlation with the QoL and the use of anti-TNFα factor was associated with statistically significantly higher QoL scores.

CONCLUSIONS This study showed that the QoL in patients with IBD varies according to the type of IBD, and is significantly affected by the use of anti-TNFα as treatment.

Key words: anti-TNFα, EuroQol (EQ-5D), Inflammatory bowel disease, Quality of life, Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIB DQ).