Quality of Life After Hysterectomy for Benign Gynecological Diseases at MOI Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Kenya

Background: Hysterectomy is one of the most frequent gynecological surgeries performed on women and has been associated with significant risk of morbidity, lower quality of life and poor health outcomes. Approximately 20-45% of women will have a hysterectomy by the time they are between 60-70years of age. Hysterectomy has an effect on the quality of life of the patient though not documented at MTRH. Objective: To assess quality of life after hysterectomy for benign gynecologic conditions. Methods: In this hospital-based prospective cohort study, 76 women admitted for elective hysterectomy for benign conditions were systematically sampled and followed up for 6 months. Questionnaire was administered to obtain patient demographics. European Quality of Life Five dimension scale (EQ-5D) and McCoy female sexuality questionnaire (MFSQ) were administered to collect information on health status and sexual function before and after hysterectomy. Health status was converted into a single score using time trade off (TTO) valuation. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare preand postoperative values. Result: Mean age of hysterectomy was 45.2 years with standard deviation (SD) of 8.2. Majority 61 (81.3%) had BMI range of 18.5-24.9, the mean parity was 4.0 with SD 2.4Mean EQ5D TTO score was 0.69 and 0.91 at baseline and at 6 months respectively with significant change in mean at 6 months (p<0.001). Mean MFSQ score was 20.73 at baseline compared to 29.23 at 6 months with significant change in mean at 6 months (p<0.001). Age was significantly associated with sexual function at 6 months especially sexual enjoyment (p=0.018) and natural vaginal lubrication (p=0.025) Conclusion: Majority of hysterectomies at MTRH were done on multipara women with normal BMI. There was significant improvement in quality of life after hysterectomy at 6 months.