Sustained virologic response improved the long-term health-related quality of life in patients with chronic hepatitis C: a prospective national study in China

Background To investigate the trends in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients and to assess the longitudinal impact of antiviral therapy on their well-being. Methods In this prospective multicenter observational study in adults with HCV infection, sociodemographic, clinical characteristics and EQ-5D questionnaires were collected. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to assess the associations between these variables and changes in HRQoL over time. Results 456 patients were included, with a median age of 46.5 (36.5–57.0) years, of which 262 (57.5%) were males and 44 (9.6%) had cirrhosis. 335 patients (73.5%) receiving antiviral therapy and 61.8% achieved sustained virologic response (SVR). The baseline EQ-5D utility and EQ-VAS were 0.916 ± 0.208 and 80.6 ± 13.0. In multivariable analysis of GEE estimation, achieving SVR24 was positively associated with EQ-5D utility ( p = 0.000) and EQ-VAS ( p = 0.000) over time. Age and income were shown to be significant predictors of EQ-5D utility, while gender, age and genotype were associated with EQ-VAS over time. Conclusions SVR improved long-term HRQoL in HCV patients in the first few years following viral clearance. Certain sociodemographic factors, such as gender, age, income as well as genotype, significantly influenced long-term changes in patients’ quality of life. Trial registration NCT01594554. Registration date: 09/05/2012.