Background: Few studies have evaluated quality of of life (QoL) in patients with upper gastrointestinal diseases, and there is a lack of validated measures for use in gastroenterology.
Methods: The applicability and relevance of self-administered questionnaires such as the Psychological General Well-Being (PGWB) index and the Gastrointestinal Symptoms referred to endoscopy because of suspected duodenal ulcer were evaluated.
Results: In total, 1526 patients with suspected duodenal ulcer were screened for inclusion in a clinical study. On the basis of medical history and endoscopy, 1424 patients who completed the questionnaire before endoscopy were classified in five diagnostic groups: oesophagitis, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, negative endoscopy, and gastritis duodenitis. Irrespective of diagnosis, all patient groups reported a considerable decrease in their general well-being (mean score, 85, compared with 105 in healthy populations) with no significant differences between the groups. The results of the GSRS, however, showed statistically significant differences between the groups in dimensions depicting Abdominal pain, Reflux, Indigestion, and Diarrhoea Syndrome.
Conclusions: The results of the study showed that, irrespective of endoscopic findings, patients complaining of upper gastrointestinal symptoms have a low degree of general well-being. The symptoms profiles in the different diagnostic groups vary considerably.