A Comparative Study of Health-Related Quality of Life among Adults with Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Southwest Nigeria

Background: Current models of care for tuberculosis (TB) focus on bacteriological cures with less emphasis on the effect of TB on physical, mental, and social well-being. There is also a paucity of data on normative values for Nigeria against which health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measures of TB patients could be assessed. The objective of this study was to compare HRQOL of adults diagnosed with TB against a comparator group from similar socio-demographic backgrounds. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was undertaken with 210 patients with pulmonary TB and a comparator group of 285 individuals from catchment communities. The World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-Short Version (WHOQOL-BREF) was used to assess HRQOL. Patients were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were analysed using IBM-SPSS version 23. A multiple linear regression model was used to identify potential predictors of HRQOL. Ethical approval was obtained from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital health research ethics committee. Results: More than half of the TB patients and those in the comparator group were men (63.3% and 59.0%, respectively), and their mean ages were 36.40±11.76 years and 36.69±12.30 years, respectively. Respondents with TB had significantly lower HRQOL domain scores across all domains (p<0.001). Domain scores for HRQOL ranged between 45.3 ±14.5 (environmental domain) and 50.9±17.3 (social relationships). Independent predictors of quality of life among TB patients included education, employment, and socio-economic status. Conclusion: Tuberculosis was significantly associated with an impairment in health-related quality of life. The environment domain was most affected among respondents with PTB. Employment status, socio-economic class and educational level were predictive of HRQOL.