Assessment of HRQoL and its Determinants for Kidney Stone Formers in urological settings of Pakistan

Abstract BackgroundQuality of life is the central health-improving goal. Urolithiasis is a complex disease related to disease-related morbidity and consequently effecting patient’s health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The study aims to evaluate the HRQoL and markers of HRQoL of kidney stone formers using a disease-specific instrument. Methods HRQoL of kidney stone formers were compared with healthy individuals using Wisconsin stone quality of life (WISQoL) questionnaire. A prospective, cross-sectional, case-control study was conducted at different urological settings of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Result Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) analysis depicted that compared with healthy individuals stone formers reported statistically significant (p < 0.001) differences in HRQoL in overall health and all the four domains of WISQoL i.e., social, emotional, disease impact and impact on vitality. Regression analysis evaluated that demographic factors, clinical features of the disease and surgical procedure for active removal of stone are major determinants of QoL for stone formers (p<0.05).Conclusion It was concluded that urolithiasis, its various disease related characteristics along with its management choices, is compromising patient’s quality of life in all major domains of health. WISQoL questionnaire was proved to be a reliable disease-specific instrument for the assessment of HRQoL of kidney stone patients.