Perceived Quality of Life Index in Patients with Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders at a Public Hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (FGDs) are chronic diseases that constitute a relevant public health problem, associated in previous research with a poorer quality of life. The aim of this study was to study the quality of life in patients attending a Neurogastroenterology Service at an Argentinean public hospital and compare it with a control population. A quantitative and cross-sectional study was carried out including a clinical population diagnosed with some FGD (n = 35) and a control sample without diagnosis of FGD (n = 37). Significant differences were found between people with FGD and control subjects, X-2 (1, N = 70) = 30.23, p < .001 in all sub-dimensions of the Quality of Life Index (MQLi), except Spiritual Fulfillment (sF). Similar to previous research, the results of this study suggest that individuals with FGD show a worse perception of quality of life than the general population. These findings could contribute to the design of interventions that contemplate biopsychoso-cial variables, with the aim of a comprehensive improvement in the quality of life of people with these disorders.