Factors Associated with Health-Related Quality of Life in Tuberculosis Patients Referred to the National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease in Tehran

BACKGROUND: In tuberculosis (TB) patients, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is significant in self-management, which in turn can be effective in therapeutic acceptance and prevention of treatment failure due to multi-drug resistant TB. This study was conducted to evaluate HRQoL and associated factors in TB patients referred to the National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (NRITLD). METHODS: In this study, patients were selected from TB clinics of the NRITLD in Tehran. In addition to an Iranian version of the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), demographic and disease characteristic questionnaires were used for data collection. The data were then analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS: Two hundred five TB patients, with the average age of 42.33±17.64 years, participated in this study. The HRQoL scores in different domains ranged from 14.68±11.60 for role limitations due to emotional problems to 46.99±13.25 for general health perceptions. The variables of sex, marital status, education, job status, place of residence, and cigarette smoking, influenced the HRQoL scores in different dimensions. CONCLUSION: According to the study findings are the important variables that influenced the HRQoL of TB patients. The consideration of its can improve the HRQoL of TB patients.