The objective and subjective dimension of quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases treated on surgical wards

Introduction: Recently our knowledge about quality of life and its measurements allows us to present the scale of health-related quality of life which includes physical function, psychological function, social function and also other symptoms related to the disease and its treatment.
Aim: To evaluate the objective and subjective dimension of quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases who were treated in surgical wards.
Material and methods: A retrospective review was carried out in 30 patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, treated surgically in the Department and Clinic of General and Colorectal Surgery, University of Medical Sciences in Poznan, Poland. To assess the objective dimension of quality of life the Polish version of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were applied. For the subjective dimension, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire was used. Crohn’s Disease Activity Index and Ulcerative Colitis Activity Index were used in the evaluation of disease activity.
Results and conclusions: The main predictors of poorer quality of life of patients in the objective dimension were bowel symptoms and emotional functioning. The main predictor of poorer quality of life of patients in the subjective dimension was no satisfaction with physical and emotional functioning.