Changes in health-related quality of life and work-related outcomes for patients with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis receiving short-term and long-term treatment with multimatrix mesalamine: a prospective, open-label study

BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is associated with lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and with disease activity predicting lower HRQoL and worse work-related outcomes. The current study examined the burden of UC on patients’ HRQoL, as well as changes in patients’ HRQoL and work-related outcomes following short-term and long-term treatment with multimatrix mesalamine, and their correspondence with changes in disease activity. METHODS: Data were from an open-label, multinational, prospective trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01124149) of 717 adults with active mild-to-moderate UC who were treated with 4.8 g/day multimatrix mesalamine tablets once daily for eight weeks (acute phase). Four-hundred sixty-one patients who achieved partial or complete clinical and endoscopic remission subsequently received treatment with daily 2.4 g/day multimatrix mesalamine for 12 months (maintenance phase). At baseline, Week 8, and Month 12, patients were administered patient-reported outcomes (PRO) measures of HRQoL (the SF-12v2® Health Survey [SF-12v2] and Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire) and work-related outcomes (Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire, UC-specific version). SF-12v2 scores were compared to the U.S. general population using Analysis of Variance models to assess burden of UC on HRQoL. Mixed-effects repeated-measures models compared PRO scores across visits to assess change in PRO scores over time. Correlations examined the correspondence of changes in PRO scores with changes on a modified UC disease activity index (UC-DAI). RESULTS: Baseline burden of disease observed on all SF-12v2 domains was partially eliminated at Week 8 and completely eliminated at Month 12. Statistically significant improvements from baseline were observed at both Week 8 and Month 12 for all PRO scores (all P < 0.001). Decreases in UC-DAI scores significantly predicted improvements in PRO scores during the acute treatment phase. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with UC receiving daily multimatrix mesalamine treatment showed significant improvements in all measured domains of HRQoL and work-related outcomes. Patients who achieved partial or complete clinical and endoscopic remission maintained these improvements for most of these domains over 12 months with continued daily treatment. Changes in HRQoL and work-related outcomes were inversely related to changes in disease activity. Findings support the effectiveness of multimatrix mesalamine for improving, and sustaining improvements, in HRQoL and work-related outcomes.