Sammendrag
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess Health-Related Quality of Life
(HRQoL) in a population of patients with vascular malformations outside the
central nervous system (CNS) and to compare the results with data from a national
reference population. METHODS: In total, 111 consecutive patients above 14 years
of age and referred for the first time to the national vascular malformation
center from September 2011 to December 2012 were included. HRQoL was assessed
using the Short-Form 36-item questionnaire (SF-36), which is a validated
questionnaire with eight domains, covering both physical and mental aspects of
HRQoL. The results were compared with national reference values. Possible
association between HRQoL and selected demographic and clinical variables was
analyzed using linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 47
men (42.3%) and 64 women (57.7%). The median age of patients was 27 years (range
14-63 years). Ninety-six patients (86.5%) were diagnosed with venous
malformations and nine patients (8.1%) with arteriovenous malformations. Six
patients had other types of malformations (9%). The patients had significantly
lower SF-36 scores in all domains, except for General health, than the general
population. There was a significant association between muscular involvement and
lower SF-36 scores in the physical domains Bodily pain and Role limitation due to
physical problems. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that patients with vascular
malformations outside the CNS have impaired quality of life when compared with
the general population. Muscular involvement seems to be associated with worse
HRQoL in the physical aspects
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