QoL and muscular dystrophy

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting study, entitled “Quality of life in patients with muscular dystrophy and their next of kin (Int J Rehabil Res. 2005 Jun;28(2):103-9). Authors are Bostrom K and Ahstrom G from the Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Orebro University, Sweden. The aims of this study are to investigate quality of life (QoL) among adult patients with muscular dystrophy and their next of kin and to investigate the influence of disease-related and demographic factors on QoL. The questionnaire “Subjective estimation of quality of life” is used. The results show that patients had lower QoL than their next of kin regarding having no work or meaningful occupation, energy, self-assuredness, self-acceptance and emotional experiences. Age of onset of disease had an impact on QoL. In the case of a person who is young and single the onset of muscular dystrophy reduces the likelihood of having a partner or children and affects personal economy negatively. There is a need for recurrent rehabilitation during life-long disabilities and a need to give particular support to those with early onset of disease, those who are single and those who are childless. It is also important to include the patient’s close relations when giving rehabilitation. To access the full abstract of the text study, click here.