Treatment burden and health-related quality of life of patients with multimorbidity: a cross-sectional study

PurposeThe aim of this study was to investigate treatment burden and its relationship with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with multimorbidity (two or more chronic diseases) who were taking prescription medications and attending the outpatient department of the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Teaching Hospital.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2019 and July 2019. Treatment burden was measured using the Multimorbidity Treatment Burden Questionnaire (MTBQ), while HRQoL was captured using the Euroqol-5-dimensions-5-Levels (EQ-5D-5L).ResultsA total of 423 patients participated in the study. The mean global MTBQ, EQ-5D index, and EQ-VAS scores were 39.35 (& PLUSMN; 22.16), 0.83 (& PLUSMN; 0.20), and 67.32 (& PLUSMN; 18.51), respectively. Significant differences were observed in the mean EQ-5D-Index (F [2, 81.88] 33.1) and EQ-VAS (visual analogue scale) scores (F [2, 75.48] = 72.87) among the treatment burden groups. Follow up post-hoc analyses demonstrated significant mean differences in EQ-VAS scores across the treatment burden groups and in EQ-5D index between the no/low treatment burden and high treatment burden, as well as between the medium treatment burden and high treatment burden. In the multivariate linear regression model, every one SD increase in the global MTBQ score (i.e., 22.16) was associated with a decline of 0.08 in the EQ-5D index (& beta; - 0.38, 95%CI - 0.48, - 0.28), as well as a reduction of 9.4 in the EQ-VAS score (& beta; - 0.51, 95%CI -0.60, - 0.42).ConclusionTreatment burden was inversely associated with HRQoL. Health care providers should be conscious in balancing treatment exposure with patients' HRQoL.

Automated summary

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between treatment burden and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with multimorbidity. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 423 patients using the Multimorbidity Treatment Burden Questionnaire (MTBQ) and Euroqol-5-dimensions-5-Levels (EQ-5D-5L). The results showed an inverse relationship between treatment burden and HRQoL. Therefore, healthcare providers should be aware of balancing treatment burden with patients' HRQoL.