QUALITY-OF-LIFE ASSESSMENTS AND CHRONIC LIVER-DISEASE

Clinicians, researchers, and policy makers are increasingly recognizin g the importance of measuring quality of life (QOL) to complement clin ical, physiological and biochemical outcomes and to integrate the trad itional ''biomedical model'' of health with the ''social science or QO L model.'' This view is of particular importance to patients with chro nic liver diseases because of the intense resource utilization and the profound impact of liver disease on patients' well-being, Although ma ny extensively validated generic QOL instruments are available, a dise ase-specific instrument for chronic liver disease is not available, Ge neric indices allow investigators the opportunity to capture the globa l impact of disease on patients' well-being and to compare different p rograms with disparate endpoints, A disease-specific instrument may be more responsive and may capture small but clinically important change s that occur as a result of therapy or natural progression of disease. This article reviews all important issues of QOL and their relevance to patients with chronic liver diseases. (C) 1998 by Am. Coll. of Gast roenterology.