Polish Cystic Fibrosis Patients’ Health-Related Quality of Life and Its Influencing Factors: A Cross-Sectional, Single-Centre Study

TL;DR

This study examines the quality of life of Polish cystic fibrosis patients and finds that age and health conditions significantly impact their well-being.

Contribution

The study identifies specific factors influencing HRQoL in Polish CF patients, including age, health status, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings

Domains with the highest HRQoL scores were eating problems, digestive symptoms, and physical functioning.

Age negatively correlated with HRQoL domains, especially treatment burden.

Present exacerbations significantly reduced HRQoL scores across most domains.

Abstract

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a disease characterized by long-term and troublesome symptoms that affect the patient’s life. This study aimed to assess and compare the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of Polish CF patients and identify factors influencing it. The study group consisted of 79 patients (6 to 42 years old), who filled in an age-appropriate Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire-Revised. Medical data were collected from each patient’s medical records. The domains with the highest HRQoL median were eating problems (88.89), digestive symptoms (77.78) and physical functioning (75.00). The lowest-rated domain was social functioning (61.90). Age negatively correlated with eight domains, and most strongly with treatment burden (rho = −0.474). Physical functioning positively correlated with all spirometry parameters, and most strongly with FEV1% (rho = 0.588). Treatment burden, body image and respiratory symptoms were positively correlated with all spirometry parameters except PEF%. Present exacerbations reduced scores in almost all domains, and in the MANCOVA model they were a significant factor differentiating patients’ HRQoL. The univariate analysis of MANCOVA showed the significant effects of both health condition (F = 8.32, p = 0.005) and the COVID-19 pandemic (F = 5.89, p = 0.018) on social functioning domain, and of the place of residence on body image (F = 5.60, p = 0.21). A decreasing HRQoL with increasing age and during exacerbations indicates that it is important to focus on these aspects of patients’ lives and ensure they received the necessary support from their healthcare providers.

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