Evaluating the Quality of Life in Patients with Behcet Disease

Behcet s disease (BD) is a relatively common problem of patients who referred to Rheumatology clinics and is a common problem of health care system. Quality of life assessment is one of the most common topics about chronic diseases. The aim of present study was to evaluate quality of life in Patients with BD who referred to Imam-Reza Educational- Medical Hospital of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Methods & Materials: In a descriptive-analytical study, 123 patients with BD who referred to Rheumatology Clinic of Imam-Reza Educational-Medical Hospital of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, were included the study. At first, demographic data including age, sex, level of education and marital status of patients’ characteristics were gathered. All patients were evaluated using 36-Item short form health survey (SF-36) to assessment of quality of life. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 16 software. Data were reported using descriptive statistics and the relationship between variables was assessed by Pearson coefficient. P-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: From 123 patients with BD, 75 (61.0%) were male and 48 (39.0%) were female. The mean age of patients was 38.19±10.99 years in the range of 14-62 years. The mean score of quality of life in patients based on SF-36 questionnaire was 71.49±21.22 in the range of 9 to 100. The subscale of emotional well-being in male patients was significantly higher than that of female patients; however, there was no significant difference between the two sexes in the physical, psychological, and mental health scores of the questionnaire. No significant correlations were seen between quality of life with age of patients (r=0.032, P=0.736). Conclusion: Based on findings of present study, reduced quality of life is a common problem in patients with BD and therefore requires evaluation and appropriate actions

Keywords:

Quality of Life , Behcet s Disease , SF-36 , Chronic Inflammatory Disease