Relationship between Symptoms and Quality of Life in a Sarcoidosis Population

Abstract

Background: As sarcoidosis is a multisytemic disorder, patients may suffer from various symptoms. The relationship between frequently reported symptoms and quality of life (QOL) has not yet been studied. Objectives: The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to examine the predictive value of the most frequently reported subjective symptoms on QOL after controlling for demographic variables and clinical parameters. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at an outpatient pulmonary clinic in Zagreb, Croatia. One hundred and fifty outpatients with sarcoidosis were seen between January 2002 and May 2004. Symptoms were assessed with a symptom inventory questionnaire, and QOL was measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument. Clinical parameters were derived from the patients’ medical files. Regression analyses were performed to examine the predictive value of symptoms on QOL. Results: The four most frequently mentioned symptoms were fatigue, breathlessness, reduced exercise capacity and arthralgia. In various combinations, being female, using corticosteroids and fatigue predicted the QOL domains physical and psychological health as well as level of independence. Con- clusions: Fatigue appeared to be the most important symptom in predicting various QOL domains after controlling for demographics, disease stage and clinical parameters. Therefore, considering improvement in the patients’ QOL, it is recommended to focus not only on objective health parameters, but also on fatigue in the management of sarcoidosis.

Physical activity and training in sarcoidosis: review and experience-based recommendations

“…Sarcoidosis-associated fatigue and exercise capacity have important associations with QoL, especially in the domain of physical health [17,[37][38][39][40]. Even so, the fatigue associated with systemic inflammation is multidimensional and can be subclassified as general, mental, physical, or motivational fatigue.…”

Factors Associated With Fatigue in Sarcoidosis

“…[3][4][5] Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms in sarcoidosis, 6 and it impairs quality of life. 7,8 In a previous study by this group, the level of fatigue within the same cohort with sarcoidosis was compared to that in the general population. The Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) and the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) tests were used.…”

Escala de avaliação da fadiga: adaptação para profissionais da saúde

“…A fadiga é uma queixa comum entre pessoas da população geral e pacientes clínicos (Cella & Chalder, 2010;Fritschi & Quinn, 2010;Michielsen, De Vries, Drent, & Peros-Golubicic, 2005;Michielsen, Peros-Golubicic, Drent, & De Vries, 2006), mas, sobretudo, entre trabalhadores de diversas ocupações (Linsey, Barker, & Nussbaum, 2011;Moore, Gupta, & Duval Neto, 2013;Oliveira, Viganó, Lunardelli, Canêo, & Goulart, 2010;Vasconcelos, Fischer, Reis, & Moreno, 2011;Wilson, 2013), e é possível defini-la a partir de diferentes abordagens. Por exemplo, de uma perspectiva geral, a fadiga compreende uma sensação subjetiva de cansaço com componentes comportamentais, emocionais e cognitivos, sendo uma sintomatologia de várias doenças, como câncer, esclerose múltipla ou doença de Parkinson (Mota, Pimenta, & Caponero, 2012;Sanches & Cardoso, 2012), refletindo-se em baixa atividade física e sonolência .…”

“…Partindo de medidas prévias sobre fadiga, De Vries, Michielsen, Van Heck e Drent (2004) criaram a Escala de Avaliação da Fadiga (EAF), instrumento que tem sido utilizado em estudos com população de pacientes com sarcoidose, dentre os quais o de Michielsen et al (2006), corroborando a fadiga como uma queixa experimentada pela maioria deles. Os autores também observaram que a fadiga configura-se como uma importante preditora (peso negativo) de indicadores de qualidade de vida.…”