The health-related quality of life of patients suffering from the late effects of polio (post-polio)

In Sweden alone, there are today approximately 10 000-16 500 polio survivor s. Between 60% and 80% experience new symptoms several years after the init ial attack of poliomyelitis. The aims of this study were to investigate and describe the self-rated health-related quality of life and functional stat us of a group of Swedish patients with post-polio, to investigate whether a ny differences within the group could be related to demographic or disease- specific data and to compare the post-polio patients with individuals sampl ed from the general population. Data were obtained by using two questionnai res, the Swedish Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire (SWED-QUAL) a nd the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP). A total of 150 patients, 86 women and 64 men with median age 61 (20-82) years, were consecutively included. The study showed that the patients mainly reported that their physical, functio nal status was affected by their post-polio condition. Factors found to be associated with the physical, functional status were age and the number of parts of the body affected by the polio. On comparing the post-polio patien ts with two samples from the Swedish general population, it was found that the patients reported a poorer functional status and health-related quality of life. The women with post-polio reported more pain, as compared with bo th the men with post-polio and the women in the general population sample. The family life of the patients - in contrast to their physical abilities - did not seem to be affected by the new deteriorating condition. It is conc luded that, owing to the wide range of symptoms, the patients with post-pol io need care and support from multidisciplinary teams, including nurses and occupational therapists.