Impact of uterine fibroids on quality of life: a national cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Objective: To study clinical impact of symptomatic uterine fibroids on women's health-related perceived quality of life regarding several dimensions.

Study design: A prospective cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted from August 18^th to September 2^nd 2016 among the general French population of women. A total of 1287 French women over the age of 18, among which 302 reported symptomatic uterine fibroids were surveyed. Data concerning demographics, symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQL) using the UFS-QoL questionnaire, an overall well-being score and overall discomfort score were collected.

Results: Almost two thirds of surveyed women (n = 193; 64%) reported moderate to severe fibroid-related symptoms (symptom severity score between 40 and 100). The global HRQL score showed that 64% of women (n = 193) reported a moderate to very important impact of fibroids on quality of life (HRQL global score between 0 and 50). The worse HRQL scores were reported for concern (57.5 ± 26.7), energy (58.1 ± 23.2) and self-conscious subscales (63.4 ± 24.3). The mean overall well-being score was lower in women with symptomatic uterine fibroids (6.6 ± 1.7) than in women without (7.3 ± 1.5). The mean overall discomfort score rated by women with symptomatic uterine fibroid was 5.7 ± 2.5 with a score between 6 and 10 reported by 56% of them.

Conclusions: We observed that 64% of surveyed women reported a moderate to very important impact of fibroids on their quality of life. This perceived alteration of quality of life together with the severity of symptomatic fibroids have a significant impact on the overall level of discomfort perceived by women and on their personal quality of life.

Keywords: Health-related quality of life (HRQL); Symptomatic uterine fibroids; Uterine fibroid symptom-quality of life questionnaire (UFS-QoL).