Health-related quality of life among blood donors with hepatitis B and hepatitis C: longitudinal study before and after diagnosis

Abstract

IntroductionThere is evidence that patients suffering from chronic hepatic diseases, including chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C, have a reduced health-related quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the notification of test results for hepatitis B and hepatitis C on the quality of life of blood donors.MethodsOver a 29-month period, this study assessed the quality of life of 105 blood donors with positive serological screening tests for hepatitis B and hepatitis C and donors who presented false-positive test results. The Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire was applied at three time points: (1) when an additional blood sample was collected for confirmatory tests; (2) when donors were notified about their serological status; and (3) when donors, positive for hepatitis B and hepatitis C, started clinical follow-up. Quality of life scores for the confirmed hepatitis B and hepatitis C groups were compared to the false-positive control group.ResultsThe domains bodily pain, general health perception, social function, and mental health and the physical component improved significantly in donors with hepatitis C from Time Point 1 to Time Point 3. Health-related quality of life scores of donors diagnosed with hepatitis B and hepatitis C were significantly lower in six and four of the eight domains, respectively, compared to the false-positive control group.ConclusionA decreased quality of life was detected before and after diagnosis in blood donors with hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Contrary to hepatitis B positive donors, the possibility of medical care may have improved the quality of life among hepatitis C positive donors.

Hepatitis C virus infection, and neurological and psychiatric disorders – A review

“…The authors concluded that reduced HRQL might result from labelling as a consequence of the diagnosis. However, other prospective studies of blood donors have revealed impaired SF-36 scores in HCV infected individuals prior to knowledge of their diagnosis, compared both to donors who tested HCV negative and to those who had a false positive result [21] , [22] . The data together suggest the presence of an independent effect of HCV infection on HRQL, which may be compounded by the impact of diagnosis.…”

Seroprevalence, cost per donation and reduction in blood supply due to positive and indeterminate results for infectious markers in a blood bank in Lima, Peru

“…A 10.6% overall prevalence of seropositive and indeterminate results was estimated. This points to a low quality of donors, high prevalence of infectious markers, the failure of interviews, organizational problems in the blood bank and poor sanitary-epidemiological control of transfusion-transmitted infections in this population 16, 20, 26…”

Aboriginal people with chronic HCV: The role of community health nurses for improving health-related quality of life

“…Mental and physical HRQL were measured using a 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the most common generic instru-ment for measuring HRQL and one used in previous HCV research (Ferreiraa, Almeida-Netoa, Teixeirab, & Strauss, 2015). This instrument is based on items related to physical and mental health status and can be applied to any disease and even to healthy subjects across eight domains (Ferreiraa et al, 2015). The SF36 is a validated measurement (Ferreiraa et al, 2015), which created a physical component summary (PCS) and a mental component summary (MCS).…”