Symptoms Burden and Health-related Quality of Life in Chinese Patients with Primary Biliary Cholangitis

Background and aims: Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic liver disease that negatively affects the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients. Furthermore, the HRQoL of Chinese patients has been neglected for a long time. The present study aimed to assess the HRQoL of Chinese patients with PBC and explore the clinical variables correlating to the improvement of itch and fatigue.

Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional study. The PBC-40 and itch numerical rating scales were used to evaluate the symptoms and HRQoL of patients.

Results: A total of 383 patients were recruited, and 86.4% were female, with a median age of 55 years (range: 49-63 years). We found that females had significantly higher scores than males in symptoms (p=0.033) and cognitive domains (p=0.021), and the fatigue domain was higher in elderly patients (p=0.007). Meanwhile, patients whose body mass index was <18.5 had the highest scores in the symptoms (p=0.009), fatigue (p=0.010), and cognitive (p=0.019) domains. Age at participation (odds ratio [OR]=1.068, p=0.015) and albumin level at 12 months after ursodeoxycholic acid treatment (OR=208.807, p=0.025) were independent factors that affected the improvement of the itch and fatigue domains, respectively.

Conclusions: The HRQoL of Chinese patients with PBC was significantly impaired depending on sex, age, and body mass index. Age and albumin level were significantly associated with the improvement of itch and fatigue, respectively. Therefore, treatment and support aimed at these two factors can be provided to improve the HRQoL of patients.