Headlines - Health-related quality of life: a newly explored concept

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a universal concept that explores the individual’s perspective. Thus, unlike many measures of health status, it is the individual who provides their own assessment of their quality of life. It is a concept that varies over time for a given individual (e.g., onset of illness) and varies from one individual to another depending on numerous characteristics. The measurement tools are most often self-administered questionnaires that result in the calculation of one or more scores. This is based on the fact that QoL is multidimensional, primarily exploring three dimensions: physical, mental, and social.

The use of this concept is particularly important in the field of chronic diseases such as diabetes¹ or, more recently, patients with chikungunya (CHIK) infections², which, as a reminder, is a notifiable disease. The objectives were to describe the clinical course of patients with CHIK infection diagnosed in metropolitan France between 2005 and 2007 and to assess their QoL by comparing it with norms in the general French population. Among the 391 imported cases of CHIK infection confirmed in mainland France included in the study, 12 resided in our regions (7 in Franche-Comté and 5 in Burgundy).

Two years after the onset of their infection, 55% of patients had not recovered. The impairment in QoL among patients who had not recovered was comparable to that observed in patients with chronic rheumatological diseases (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis), demonstrating the severity of the long-term impact of CHIK infection on QoL. The study also showed that recovered patients regained a QoL level identical to that of the general population.

In conclusion, the study highlights the importance of medical follow-up until full recovery to ensure a return to normal health status and perceived QoL, as well as psychological support to prevent potential depression or anxiety due to the chronic nature of the disease. This approach based on perceived health status complements traditional "objective" approaches.