Abstract
Background and aims: The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of life (QoL) of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) amputees. Patients and methods: Fifty-nine PAD patients (mean age 75.2, SD 10.7, range 39-96, 47% men) who had undergone their first major lower leg amputation (LEA) in average 2.7 years earlier (in 1998-2002) were interviewed, and 118 age- and gender-matched controls completed a postal questionnaire. Outcomes were assessed with the 15D Health-Related QoL instrument, the Rand-36 Physical Functioning- and General Health subscales, the Geriatric Depression Scale, the 6-item Brief Social Support Questionnaire, and the Self-reported Life Satisfaction score. Results: The amputees had more diseases than their controls. HRQoL was lower among the amputees than among the controls. Half of the amputees lived in institutional care, 25% had a Mini-Mental Examination score < 18, and 22% had a unilateral below-knee amputation only. The amputees had a similar self-assessed sense of their general state of health, life satisfaction and perceived social support as their controls. Amputees who were institutionalized and those who did not use a prosthesis had more depressive symptoms than those who lived at home or used a prosthesis. Conclusion: Home-dwelling amputees had a relatively good QoL whereas institutionalization was associated with depressive symptoms. In rehabilitation programmes not only physical disability assessment but also QoL should be considered.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Aging Clinical and Experimental Research |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 5-6 |
Pages (from-to) | 395-405 |
Number of pages | 11 |
ISSN | 1720-8319 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2010 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Fields of Science
- 314 Health sciences