FACTORS PREDICTING HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

Abstract

This study aimed to describe health-related quality of life and its influencing factors among patients with inflammatory bowel diseases in Wenzhou, China. Using simple random sampling, 150 patients with IBD were recruited from the Department of Gastroenterology in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China. Research tools included a demographic data questionnaire and a 22-item IBD quality-of-life questionnaire, Short Health Scale, Body Image Scale, Perceived Stress Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Data analyses were performed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis.

The results of this study showed that the average score of health-related quality of life in patients with IBD was 86.43 (SD=12.89), indicating relatively moderate level. Social support, body image dissatisfaction, perceived health status and perceived stress significantly explained 30.0 % of the variance in the health-related quality of life (Adjust R 2 = .300, F = 16.939, p < .001). The strongest influencing factor was perceived health status (β = -.0.341, p < .001), followed by perceived stress (β = -.205, p < .01), and then body image dissatisfaction (β = -.218, p < .05) and the least was social support (β = .147, p < .05). Clinical nurses could promote IBD patients’ health-related quality of life by improving their perceived health status, reducing stress, and helping them find social support systems, so as to change the way they look at their body image. These can certainly help improve their quality of life.

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