Evaluation of quality of life in sarcoidosis patients

Health-related quality of life (QOL) has become an important topic in health care. However, hardly any attention has been paid to QOL in sarcoidosis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the impact of sarcoidosis on QOL. Sixty-four sarcoidosis patients completed the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment instrument (WHOQOL-100) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). For the WHOQOL-100 a matched group of healthy controls was selected. Patients were divided into two groups: group I (n = 37) consisted of patients with actual symptoms, group II (n = 27) consisted of asymptomatic patients. The WHOQOL-100 revealed a number of areas in which sarcoidosis patients, especially those with current symptoms, experienced problems. A major symptom in both groups of sarcoidosis patients was fatigue. No association between the facet fatigue and the domain psychological health was found. Depressive symptoms (BDI) were associated with psychological function (WHOQOL-100). No association between pulmonary function tests and QOL was found. In conclusion, this study shows that sarcoidosis has a considerable impact on the QOL of patients. The WHOQOL-100 appeared to be a sensitive instrument to measure fatigue--one of the most common symptoms in sarcoidosis--which otherwise is difficult to assess objectively.