Quality of Life in Different Chronic Diseases and Its Related Factors

Background: Quality of life (QoL) is an important tool for evaluating the effect of a disease as well as effects of treatment interventions. The present study is aimed to investigate QoL of the patients with various prevalent chronic diseases in Iran.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 625 patients with one of the prevalent chronic diseases were assessed. Participants were recruited via convenient sampling method in special clinics of chronic diseases in three educational hospitals in Qazvin, Iran, from May to December 2016. Data were collected using WHOQOL-BREF and demographic questionnaire through interview. Data were analyzed using independent -test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression method.

Results: Significant difference in QoL scores was found in different chronic disease; patients with diabetes and hypertension had higher scores and patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) had the lowest scores. Multivariate analysis showed that age, economic status, and type of disease were among the significant variables in predicting the QoL of the patients with chronic diseases.

Conclusions: Some patients, such as those with asthma and COPD, had less QoL than other patients and should be prioritized while planning for the promotion of healthcare services. Due to the negative effects of economic status on QoL, the financial support programs should be among the major priorities of the patients' QoL improvement programs.