Summary
Health-related quality of life (QoL) has been associated with several social and medical
conditions in patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE).To
the best of our knowledge,there is no study investigating the relationship of QoL
with psychological variables in this patient population.We assumed as a hypothesis
an association between heightened levels of fatigue and psychological distress, as
well as decreased QoL in patients with an objectively diagnosed venous thromboembolic
event. Study participants were 205 consecutively enrolled out-patients (47.4 years,
54.6% men) with DVT and/or PE. Approximately 10 days before blood collection for thrombophilia
work-up, QoL, fatigue, and psychological distress were assessed using the Short Form
Health Survey (SF-12), the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory Short Form (MFSI-SF)
as well as the Hospitality Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS). After controlling
for demographic and medical factors, fatigue (p<0.01) but not psychological distress
(p>0.05) was negatively associated with physical QoL, explaining 11.0% of the variance.
Fatigue (p<0.001) and psychological distress (p<0.001) were significant predictors
of mental QoL,explaining an additional 36.2% and 3.6% of the variance. Further analyses
revealed that all subscales of the HADS (e.g. anxiety and depression) and of the MFSI-SF
(e.g. general fatigue, physical fatigue, emotional fatigue, mental fatigue and vigor)
were significant predictors of mental QoL. MFSI-SF subscales also predicted physical
QoL. The findings suggest that fatigue and psychological distress substantially predict
QoL in patients with a previous venous thromboembolic event above and beyond demographic
factors.
Keywords
Quality of life - psychological distress - fatigue - pulmonary embolism - thrombophilia
- deep venous thrombosis